Abstract: The reactions of active nitrogen with SO2 and SOCl2 have been studied on a flowing afterglow apparatus. The emissions ranging from 280 to 500 nm were assigned to SO2 (~A2, 1B1→1A1) and SO2(3B1→1A1). With the aim to discerning the roles of active N atom and N2(A3Σ+u) played in the reactions above, N2(A3Σ+u) generated by Ar(3P0, 2) reacting with N2 has substituted the active nitrogen to react with SO2 and SOCl2, respectively. It shows that when reacting with SO2, both the active nitrogen and N2(A3Σ+u) without N atom can produce SO2 (~A2, 1B1) and SO2 (3B1); while reacting with SOCl2, only when N2(A3Σ+u) and the active N atoms coexist, could SO2 (3B1) be formed. Therefore, it is concluded that N2 (A3Σ+u) dominates the reaction of active nitrogen with SO2 and makes SO2 excited directly; N2 (A3Σ+u)and active N atom reacting with SOCl2 can generate the constitutions to form SO2 (3B1), which were suggested as N2O(X1Σ+) and SO(X).

Key words: Active nitrogen, Flowing afterglow, Compounds containing sulfur and oxygen, SO2