Kinetics and Thermodynamics of the CN Molecule. I. Decomposition Mechanism for CN Molecules

Two different reaction mechanisms, CN+CN→C2+N2 and also CN+M→C+N+M, have been reported for the decomposition of CN molecules behind shock waves. The current analytical study demonstrates that these two observed mechanisms are special cases of the generally applicable CN decomposition chain, CN+M→C+N+M, C+CN→C2+N, N+CN→N2+C, in which the first reaction or a combination of the second and third reactions can dominate, depending on temperature and CN concentration.