The main goal of this research activity is the identification of the product channels of the reactions of OH radicals and atomic chlorine with various volatile organic compounds with an interest in atmospheric chemistry. These studies are performed in collaboration with Eric Villenave from the PTC group of ISM laboratory, and are supported by the French national program LEFE-CHAT of INSU and by an international program DFG-CNRS. Those experiments are conducted in a fast flow reactor in which atoms are initially produced by microwave discharge, the gas mixture is ionized using single photon ionization in the vacuum UV (117.6 nm) and detected using time-of-flight mass spectrometry. The reactions studied during the last four years are OH + Alkenes, OH + Terpenes (C₁₀H₁₆) and Cl + butanal (H₃C-CH₂-CH₂-CHO).


Discharge Flow Tube Coupled to Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry Detection for Kinetic Measurements of Interstellar and Atmospheric Interests.
J.-C. Loison*, S. Sanglar, E. Villenave.
Rev. Sci. Instr. (2005), 76, 519-524

H-atom Abstraction Channel Measurement from the Reaction of the OH radical with E-Butene and 1-Butene.
J.-C. Loison*, F. Caralp
En préparation