Chemiluminescent reactions of group IIIb atoms with O2: Spectral simulations and extended energy dependence

Abstract

Spectral simulations have been performed of visible chemiluminescence from crossed‐molecular‐beam reactions of La, Y, and Sc with O₂. Experiments analyzed include previous thermal energy results, as well as new hyperthermal energy measurements using an O₂/He seeded beam. The simulations allow more precise determinations of product monoxide vibrational energy distributions and also provide information on product rotational energy distributions. Previous indications of statistical behavior in the product energy distributions are confirmed. Deviations from the information–theoretic prior translational energy dependence of rate coefficients occur for the endoergic formation of YO(B ²Σ) and ScO(A ²Π.