Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
In atmospheric chemistry, NO x is shorthand for nitric oxide (NO) and nitrogen dioxide (NO 2), the nitrogen oxides that are most relevant for air pollution. [1] [2] These gases contribute to the formation of smog and acid rain, as well as affecting tropospheric ozone.
Due to relatively weak N–O bonding, all nitrogen oxides are unstable with respect to N 2 and O 2, which is the principle behind the catalytic converter, and prevents the oxygen and nitrogen in the atmosphere from combusting.
Nitrogen dioxide is a chemical compound with the formula NO 2. One of several nitrogen oxides , nitrogen dioxide is a reddish-brown gas. It is a paramagnetic , bent molecule with C 2v point group symmetry .
Nitric oxide (nitrogen oxide or nitrogen monoxide [1]) is a colorless gas with the formula NO. It is one of the principal oxides of nitrogen . Nitric oxide is a free radical : it has an unpaired electron , which is sometimes denoted by a dot in its chemical formula ( • N=O or • NO).
This kind of visible air pollution is composed of nitrogen oxides, sulfur oxide, ozone, smoke and other particulates. Man-made smog is derived from coal combustion emissions, vehicular emissions, industrial emissions, forest and agricultural fires and photochemical reactions of these emissions.
Ground-level ozone is both naturally occurring and anthropogenically formed. It is the primary constituent of urban smog, forming naturally as a secondary pollutant through photochemical reactions involving nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds in the presence of bright sunshine with high temperatures. [35]
When oxides of nitrogen (NOx) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) react in the presence of sunlight, ground level ozone is formed, a primary ingredient in smog. A 2005 U.S. EPA report gives road vehicles as the second largest source of VOCs in the U.S. at 26% and 19% are from non road equipment which is mostly gasoline and diesel stations.
Nitrous oxide (dinitrogen oxide or dinitrogen monoxide), commonly known as laughing gas, nitrous, or factitious air, among others, [4] is a chemical compound, an oxide of nitrogen with the formula N 2 O. At room temperature, it is a colourless non-flammable gas, and has a slightly sweet scent and taste. [4]