Dissolution of nitrogen oxides (NO and NO
2) into water was studied with regard to the intake process of NO
x by living body. NO
x mixed with N
2 was passed in bubblers at 25°C. NO
2- and NO
2-+NO
3- were analyzed with colorimetric methods. NO dissolves physically in the absence of O
2 and obeys Henry's law. NO
2 (20-80 ppm (v/v)) dissolves and gives rise to equal amounts of NO
2- and NO
3- regardless of the existence of O
2. The rate of NO
2 dissolution is proportional to the gaseous concentration of NO
2. The dissolution of NO+NO
2 (NO: 230-630 ppm (v/v)), NO
2: (25-70 ppm (v/v)) produces NO
2- exclusively in the absence of O
2. The rate depends linearly upon the gaseous concentration of NO
2 irrespective of the concentration of NO. The rate constant of the dissolution of NO+NO
2 approximately equals that of NO
2, which suggests that both reactions proceed with the identical rate determining step. The dissolution of NO in the existence of O
2 (NO: 100-470 ppm (v/v), O
2: 50%) likely proceeds with the gaseous oxidation of NO and the subsequent dissolution of NO+NO
2. The rate constant
k of the oxidation of NO with O
2 was calculated according to the above mechanism. The value of
k thus obtained agreed well with that reported by Stedman and Niki.
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