Recent advances in the application of discharge-flow to the determination of gas-phase rate coefficients at pressures and temperatures of relevance to the Earth's atmosphere

The determination of gas-phase rate coefficients using the traditional discharge-flow system has produced a wealth of information that has informed atmospheric science. However, the range of pressure and temperatures observed in the Earth's atmosphere cannot be accessed by such a system. In this paper we discuss the recent advances in flow tube studies such as the use of turbulent flow that have allowed one to operate flow systems at atmospheric pressure and over a wider range of temperature. At the same time a number of new detection methods have been coupled to flow systems, such as CIMS, CEAS and UV-PES that have greatly enhanced the versatility and range of systems that may be studied and these are briefly discussed.