Viewing a single comment thread. View all comments

smolgaybigcity t1_ja62ydy wrote

Reply to comment by ECatPlay in If the fuel that goes in car engines is extracted from hydrocarbons, which consist of only Hydrogen and Carbon, and those hydrocarbons react with Oxygen in the air (combustion reaction), to produce CO2 and H2O, why do we get a bad smell from car exhaust fumes if both gases are odorless? by Protoflare

N2O2 is another byproduct, albeit produced in the lowest amounts, but still happens. It has an acrid odor.

19

ECatPlay t1_ja8gcvv wrote

I think you mean N2O4, which does indeed have an acrid odor. This is the dimer of NO2, and is in equilibrium with it, such that both species are present:

2 NO2 ⇌ N2O4

This is generally understood to be part of the mixture generically referred to as NOx. But point taken.

5