A theoretical calculation of dissociation rates of molecular hydrogen in electrical discharges

Abstract

Dissociation rates of molecular hydrogen in electrical discharges have been calculated at different electron ( T e) and gas ( T g) temperatures (10000 ⩽ T e ⩽ 23000 K, 500 ⩽ T g ⩽ 4000 K), at different pressures p (5 ⩽ p ⩽ 50 torr) and electron number densities n e (0 ⩽ n e ⩽ 10 12 cm −3). The results have been obtained by solving a system of master equations, including VT (vibration-translation), VV (vibrationvibration) and eV (electronvibration) microscopic processes. The results obtained at n e ≠ O show a “laser-type mechanism” in the dissociation of molecular hydrogen in electrical discharges. In particular one notices a strong increase of dissociation rates with decreasing gas temperature and pressure. The results show that this mechanism is as important as the mechanism of direct dissociation by electron impact.