ON THE ADSORPTION OF NO AND NO2 ON COLD H2O H2SO4 SURFACES/

A static reaction chamber attached to a mass spectrometer was employed to study the adsorption of NO and NO2 onto cold surfaces of pure ice and liquid/solid 70 wt % H2SO4. No significant adsorption could be obs erved for surface temperatures in the range 193-243 K and NO/NO2 parti al pressures of 10(-2) - 10(-5) mbar. This sets an upper limit on the uptake coefficients for both NO and NO2 of 5 . 10(-5). The possible fo rmation of nitrosyl sulphuric acid by adsorption of NO and NO2 on cold sulphuric acid particles is therefore unlikely to be of importance in the stratosphere.