A carbon reaction studied by crossed molecular beamsa)

Abstract

The chemiluminescent reaction C₂+NO→CN(B ²Σ⁺) +CO+2.89 eV has been studied in a crossed molecular beam configuration. The carbon beam was obtained from a graphite sublimation source operating at 2550° K. The beam (principally C, C₂, C₃) was pulsed by a rotating slotted disk before it crossed the NO beam. Electronically excited molecules formed in reaction, CN(B ²Σ⁺), were detected as they rapidly decayed to the ground state. Photon time‐of‐arrival measurements identified the reactant as C₂. The vibrational energy disposal within CN(B ²Σ⁺) was derived from wavelength resolved measurements. Reaction energetics and the signal intensity indicated the companion product, CO(X¹Σ). This study indicates that energy deposition into vibrational degrees of CN(B ²Σ⁺) disagrees mildly with ’’prior expectation’’ (Levine, Bernstein, and co‐workers). The reaction probably proceeds on a potential energy surface that correlates to C₂(X′ ³Π_u)+NO(X ²Π).