Calculation of absorption contours and excitation selectivity of isotopic molecules 12CO and 13CO for implementation of photocatalytic reactions

Abstract

The possibilities of the isotope-selective excitation of molecules by CO laser radiation. More specifically, the problem of determining the conditions of the preferable excitation of heavy isotope 3C18O compared to the light isotope 12C18O is set. A carbon monoxide molecule is capable of absorbing at hundreds of vibrational-rotational lines within the principal absorption band of the CO molecule over the 1200–2600 cm−1 range. Since radiation absorption is negligibly low in the frequency range below 1900 cm-1 and there are no appreciably efficient radiation sources over the 2200–2600 cm−1 range in which absorption can be observed, the 1900–2200 cm−1 frequency range is considered in this work. The presented calculations may refer to the selective excitation of the gas phase in bulk and in gas absorbed on the surface.