This project uses the techniques of Time Resolved Fourier Transform InfraRed Emission (TRFTIRE) and Cavity Enhanced Absorption Spectroscopies (CEAS) to study the mechanisms of gas phase processes which rely on the energy deposited into a product of an elementary reaction being used to overcome the energy barrier of its subsequent use as a reactant in a secondary process, so called Chemical Activation. Such processes are of crucial importance in determining the pathways to the products of combustion reactions and hence in determining the efficiency of a variety of oxidation processes.