The Surface Recombination of H Atoms and OH Radicals

Abstract

A diffusion method of investigating surface recombination of atoms by substances of low catalytic power is presented. By this method we have evaluated the coefficient of recombination γ for H and OH on Pyrex for a temperature range of over 500°C. For smaller ranges of temperature we have found the recombination of H on a number of salts, and have found this recombination to be strongly dependent on the dryness of the surface. All salts investigated save KCl strongly recombined H when dry. Salts recombining H could not be investigated for OH recombination. However KCl, which did not recombine H, did recombine OH strongly. A number of strong dehydrogenating and dehydrating agents were tested for differences in H and OH recombination, but no difference was found.