Mechanism and thermochemistry of oxidation of HCl and HBr at high temperatures. The heat of formation of HO₂

Using currently available thermochemical and kinetic data and estimation methods to analyze the thermochemistry and the kinetic parameters of the elementary reactions involved in the oxidation of HCl and HBr, reaction mechanisms are proposed which account for the previously reported reaction products, the rate law, and the kinetic data. For oxidation of HCl, two competitive pathways, the radical initiation by hydrogen abstraction and the fourcenter reaction pathway, were invoked to account for the observations. In the oxidation of HBr one must invoke a fast surface reaction of the type to account for the reaction.