Direct production of excited NF(b 1Σ +) in the system F-F 2-NH 3 via a supersonic regime

Abstract

By using a supersonic mixing reaction chamber, the direct production of electronically excited NF(b 1Σ +) becomes feasible in the F-F 2-NH 3 system, for which a reaction mechanism is proposed. The quenching rate constants of NF(b 1Σ +) by DF and NH 3 are calculated as k DF = (5.0 ± 2.2) × 10 −13 and k NH 3 = (2.8 ± 0.5) × 10 −13 cm 3/molecules. The maximum population of NF(b 1Σ +) in the supersonic flowfield is estimated to be on the order of 10 13 molecules/cm 3.