Thermal electron attachment to O2 in H2 and D2

Abstract The attachment of thermal electrons to O 2 in H 2 and D 2 has been investigated using a microwave cavity technique combined with X-ray pulse radiolysis. The results show that the electron attachment processes obey the Bloch-Bradbury mechanism. At 290 K the three-body electron attachment rate constants with O 2 , H 2 and D 2 as third bodies are (2.2 ± 0.2) × 10 −30 , (4.8 ± 0.3) × 10 −31 , (1.40 ± 0.05) × 10 −31 cm 6 s −1 , respectively. The mechanism involved in the collisional stabilization of unstable oxygen molecular negative ions by H 2 and D 2 is briefly discussed.