Vibrational relaxation of NO +(υ) by O 2( 1Δ g) molecules

Abstract

The rate constant for NO +(υ) vibrational relaxation by metastable O 2( 1Δ g) molecules is found to be (3±2)×10 −10 cm 3 s −1 at room temperature, in contrast to the lack of vibrational quenching of NO +(υ) by ground-state O 2( 3Σ) molecules, for which the quenching rate constant <10 −12 cm 3 s −1. This suggests that NO +( 1Σ)+O 2( 1Δ) follows a much more attractive potential curve than NO +( 1Σ)+O 2( 3Σ).