Electronic-to-vibrational energy-transfer studies of singlet molecular oxygen. 1. O2(a1.DELTA.g)

Physics and chemistry of the influence of excited molecules on combustion enhancement

The paper addresses detailed analysis of kinetic processes in the H(2)-O(2), CO-O(2) and CH(4)-O(2)-reactive systems upon the presence of singlet oxygen molecules O(2)(a(1)Δg) and [Formula: see text] and the influence of the activation of oxygen molecules in electric discharge on the acceleration of ignition in the H(2)-O(2) and CH(4)-O(2) mixtures. The possibility of the intensification of CO oxidation due to excitation of O(2) and N(2) molecule vibrations and generation of singlet oxygen molecules is also considered. It is shown that the effect of accelerating the ignition strongly depends on the reduced electric field and, as a consequence, on the composition of discharge plasma as well as on the features of chain mechanism development in oxy-fuel systems. It is revealed that the most effective approach for the intensification of CO oxidation both in the moist air and in the products of hydrocarbon combustion in air is the generation of O(2)(a(1)Δg) molecules by electric discharge. Computations showed that the presence of 1% O(2)(a(1)Δg) in the total oxygen allowed one to convert CO to CO(2) even at the temperature T=850-900 K in the time of 10(-2) s. The excitation of O(2) and N(2) molecule vibrations is less effective for such a conversion.

Standard photoacoustic spectrometer: model and validation using O2 A-band spectra

We model and measure the absolute response of an intensity-modulated photoacoustic spectrometer comprising a 10 cm long resonator and having a Q-factor of approximately 30. We present a detailed theoretical analysis of the system and predict its response as a function of gas properties, resonance frequency, and sample energy transfer relaxation rates. We use a low-power continuous wave laser to probe O(2) A-band absorption transitions using atmospheric, humidified air as the sample gas to calibrate the system. This approach provides a convenient and well-characterized method for calibrating the absolute response of the system provided that water-vapor-mediated relaxation effects are properly taken into account. We show that for photoacoustic spectroscopy (PAS) of the O(2) A-band, the maximum conversion efficiency of absorbed photon energy to acoustic energy is approximately 40% and is limited by finite collision-induced relaxation rates between the two lowest-lying excited electronic states of O(2). PAS also shows great potential for high-resolution line shape measurements: calculated and experimental values for the PAS system response differ by about 1%.

Nonlocal thermodynamic equilibrium effects in stratospheric HF by collisional energy transfer from electronically excited O(2) and implications for infrared remote sensing

A possible nonlocal thermodynamic equilibrium (non-LTE) effect involving stratospheric HF arising from the direct photochemical excitation of vibrationally excited HF by collisional energy transfer from electronically excited O(2) [O(2)((1)Delta), O(2)((1)Sigma)] is presented. Although this non-LTE effect is smaller than one associated with the direct solar excitation of both HF(nu= 1) and HF(nu= 2), calculations show that inclusion of the mechanism proposed here into retrieval algorithms is necessary if correct daytime upper stratosphere HF profiles are to be inferred in future infrared thermal emission measurements. Accurate determinations of the state-to-state rate constants of the reactions involved in these excitation processes and of the quenching rates of vibrationally excited HF are needed if IR thermal emission techniques are to be accurately employed in the measurement of stratospheric HF.