Gas Phase Reaction of Sulfur Trioxide with Water Vapor

Sulfur trioxide (SO3) has long been known to react with water to produce sulfuric acid (H2S04). It has been commonly assumed that the gas phase reaction in the Earth`s atmosphere between SO3 and water vapor to produce sulfuric acid vapor is an important step in the production of sulfuric acid aerosol particles. The kinetics of the gas phase reaction of SO3 with water vapor have previously been studied by Castleman and co-workers, Wang et al and Reiner and Arnold. Each of these studies was carried out in a flow reactor, with the first two studies performed at low pressure (1-10 Torr) and the latter from approx. 30 to 260 Torr. Each of these studies measured SO3 decays over a range of H2O vapor levels, obtaining data consistent with interpreting the reaction of gaseous SO3 and H2O as a bimolecular process. It is not clear why previous experimental studies failed to observe a nonlinear dependence of SO3 consumption on water vapor concentration. It is probable that sufficient water dimer exists in much of the Earth`s atmosphere to allow dimer reactions to participate in sulfuric acid vapor formation.