Vibrational Participation in Chemical Reactions.

Abstract

Evidence for mode-selective excitation of bimolecular reactions has been obtained in our laboratories under AFOSR support. Many laboratories have endeavored to demonstrate mode-selective excitation of either unimolecular reactions since tunable lasers have come into the hands of chemists. Success can be attributed to use of the solid inert gas environment at cryogenic temperature (12K) and investigation of bimolecular reactions that can be excited with photons of sufficiently low energy that the reactant energy level diagram is still sparse. A significant, perhaps crucial, part of this technique is that rotational degrees of freedom are frozen out. Our first system selected for study was the NO + O3 reaction. The fluorine-olefin reactions, F2 + ethylene and F2 + allene, provided our real successes. These reactions showed, first, that the reactions can be stimulated with tuned laser excitation of the olefin and, second, that the quantum yield is very strongly dependent on the energy of the exciting photon. HF Rotational Lasers- One of the significant and least understood aspects of the performance of the HF chemical laser has been the role of rotational degrees of freedom in vibrational relaxation. Nanosecond Infrared Spectroscopy.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Aug 22, 1986
Accession Number
ADA173169

Entities

People

  • George C. Pimentel

Organizations

  • University of California, Berkeley

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Materials and Manufacturing Processes

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Alkenes
  • Chemical Reactions
  • Chemical Synthesis
  • Chemistry
  • Dye Lasers
  • Elimination Reactions
  • Energy Transfer
  • Frequency Combs
  • Infrared Spectroscopy
  • Laser Applications
  • Lasers
  • Light (Electromagnetic Radiation)
  • Microsecond Time
  • Oxygen
  • Quantum Yields
  • Spectroscopy
  • Vibrational Relaxation

Fields of Study

  • Chemistry
  • Physics

Readers

  • Optical Physics and Photonics.
  • Organic Chemistry
  • Systems Analysis and Design

Technology Areas

  • Directed Energy
  • Directed Energy - Lasers
  • Quantum Computing