Electronically Excited Oxygen
Abstract
The specific aim of this research project was to explore the role of electronically excited oxygen in a variety of processes: combustion, spontaneous ignition, cool flames, and unusual structural forms of oxygen. The results show that electronically excited oxygen participates in cool flame combustion through a chain mechanism involving a manifold of electronically excited molecular species. At elevated temperatures of 600 K that are much lower than normal combustion temperatures, electronically excited oxygen reacts with hydrocarbons (for instance, through ene-reactions) at rates that are 10-20 times faster than quenching of the excited state. The significance of this result is that the oxygen excitation process can be exploited to enhance the fuel burning properties of internal combustion engines and that the spontaneous oxidation (combustion) of liquid fuels can be explained. A further result is that a valence bond analysis of assemblies of oxygen molecules provides insight into their electronic structure. The significance of this result is in explaining the nature of bonding between oxygen atoms in an extended molecular system.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Mar 01, 2002
- Accession Number
- ADA414664
Entities
People
- David M. Silver
Organizations
- Johns Hopkins University