Dissociative electron attachment of NO$_2$ molecule at low collision energies

The work focuses on the theoretical study of dissociative electron attachment (DEA) of nitrogen dioxide, NO$_2$, which is a part of undesired air pollutants in the atmosphere produced from combustion processes. NO$_2$ molecules are emitted from combustion processes and can react with oxygen and water present in the atmosphere resulting in the formation of nitric acid that can be detrimental for the environment. Therefore, it is important to not only understand the formation mechanism of NO$_2$ molecules but also its destruction mechanisms. We investigate whether DEA is an efficient process to remove the unwanted NO$_2$ molecules at combustion level before being emitted into the environment. We report here the results of our ab initio quantum chemical studies of the geometrical and electronic structure of the NO$_2$ and and its negative ion NO$_2^-$ in our theoretical study of DEA in NO$_2$. The scattering calculations are carried out using the complex Kohn variational method. The nuclear dynamics, including dissociation, will later be treated using the MCTDH code with a three-dimensional potential energy surface.