NO 2 concentration profiles in shock-heated NO 2 /Ar mixtures were measured in the temperature range of 1350 -2100 K and pressures up to 380 atm using Ar ϩ laser absorption at 472.7 nm, IR emission at , and visible emission at 300 -600 nm. In the course of this study, the absorption coefficient of NO 2 at 472.7 nm was measured at temperatures from 300 K to 2100 K and pressures up to 75 atm. Rate coefficients for the reactions and were derived by comparing the measured and calculated NO 2 profiles. For reaction (1), the following low-and high-pressure limiting rate coefficients were inferred which describe the measured fall-off curves in Lindemann form within 15%:The inferred rate coefficient at the low-pressure limit, k 1o , is in good agreement with previous work at higher temperatures, but the energy of activation is lower by 20 kJ/mol than reported previously. The pressure dependence of k 1 observed in the earlier work of Troe [1] was confirmed. The rate coefficient inferred for the high pressure limit, k 1ϱ , is higher by a factor of two than Troe's value, but in agreement with data obtained by measuring specific energydependent rate coefficients.For the reactions (2a) and (2b), least-squares fits of the present data lead to the following Arrhenius expressions:For reaction (2), the new data agree with previously recommended values of k 2a and k 2b , although the present study suggests a slightly higher preexponential factor for k 2a . © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Int J Chem Kinet 29: 483 -493, 1997. k 2b ϭ 10 13.0Ϯ0.3 exp(Ϫ(108 Ϯ 8) kJ mol Ϫ1 / RT) cm 3 mol Ϫ1 s Ϫ1 k 2a ϭ 10 12.3Ϯ0.2 exp(Ϫ(105 Ϯ 7) kJ mol Ϫ1 / RT) cm 3 mol Ϫ1 s Ϫ1 k 1ϱ ϭ 10 (14.6Ϯ0.3) exp(Ϫ300 kJ mol Ϫ1 / RT) s Ϫ1 k 1o ϭ 10 (15.6Ϯ0.2) exp(Ϫ(251 Ϯ 5) kJ mol Ϫ1 /RT) cm 3 mol Ϫ1 s Ϫ1 (2b) NO 2 ϩ NO 2 : NO 3 ϩ NO NO 2 ϩ M : NO ϩ O ϩ M (1), NO 2 ϩ NO 2 : 2NO ϩ O 2 (2a), 6.25 Ϯ 0.25 m