Paramagnetic Catalysis of the Ortho—Parahydrogen Conversion

15 January 1967

journal article
research article
Published by AIP Publishing in The Journal of Chemical Physics

Vol. 46 (2) , 732-744
https://doi.org/10.1063/1.1840734

Abstract

A theory is presented for the paramagnetic catalysis of ortho—para transitions in molecular hydrogen, deuterium, and tritium. The cause for reaction is taken to be an inhomogeneous magnetic field, orginating from a catalyst molecule and operative during the binary collisions of catalyst and reactant species. Formulas for the distorted wave approximation to the cross sections are presented, as are expressions for the specific rates of the associated thermal reactions. Exploratory calculations are performed for the oxygen catalyzed para (L=0)→ortho(L=1) transition in hydrogen. With the assumption of a hard‐sphere interaction the rates calculated for 77.3° and for 86°K turn out to be only about 25% to 30% of the experimentally observed rates.

Keywords

This publication has 1 reference indexed in Scilit:

On the theory of the catalysis of the ortho-para transformation by paramagnetic gases
Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series A. Mathematical and Physical Sciences, 1935