Reply to comment on the possible role of the reaction H+H2O→H2+OH in the radiolysis of water at high temperatures

In reply to “Comment on the possible role of reaction H+H2O→H2+OH in the radiolysis of water at high temperatures” (Bartels, 2009 Comment on the possible role of the reaction H+H2O→H2+OH in the radiolysis of water at high temperatures. Radiat. Phys. Chem. 78, 191–194) we present an alternative thermodynamic estimation of the reaction rate constant k. Based on the non-symmetric standard state convention we have calculated that the Gibbs energy of reaction ΔrG=57.26 kJ mol−1 and the reaction rate constant k=7.23×10−5 M−1 s−1 at ambient temperature. Re-analysis of the thermodynamic estimation (Bartels, 2009 Comment on the possible role of the reaction H+H2O→H2+OH in the radiolysis of water at high temperatures. Radiat. Phys. Chem. 78, 191–194) showed that the upper limit for the rate constant at 573 K is k=1.75×104 M−1 s−1 compared to the value predicted by the diffusion-kinetic modelling (3.18±1.25)×104 M−1 s−1 (Swiatla-Wojcik, D., Buxton, G.V., 2005. On the possible role of the reaction H+H2O→H2+OH in the radiolysis of water at high temperatures. Radiat. Phys. Chem. 74(3–4), 210–219). The presented thermodynamic evaluation of k(573) is based on the assumption that k can be calculated from ΔrG and the rate constant of the reverse reaction which, as discussed, are both uncertain at high temperatures.