Revisiting iron oxidation chemistry in synthesis flames: Insights from a shock-tube study with intracavity laser absorption spectroscopy tracking of FeO

The reaction between Fe atoms and O₂ in a mixture of iron-pentacarbonyl (IPC, 2 ppm) and oxygen (100 ppm), diluted in argon, has been studied in a shock tube behind reflected shock waves over the temperature and pressure ranges of 1050–3400 K and 0.7–2.0 bar. Time-resolved measurements of Fe and FeO have been performed simultaneously using a combination of atomic resonance absorption spectroscopy (ARAS) and intracavity laser absorption spectroscopy (ICAS) with a custom-made broadband dye laser, respectively. For ICAS, absorption features in the spectral range from 16,316 to 16,353 cm⁻¹ have been evaluated, and the oscillator strengths for all 41 assigned ro-vibronic transitions have been expressed. For most of the experimental cases, the measured Fe and FeO traces agreed well with the mechanism reported in this work. The quantitative and highly-sensitive measurements revealed the presence of FeO at temperatures below 1400 K, leading to a reconsideration of rate coefficients for different Fe oxidation channels.