Ternary Recombination Research Articles

Evaluation of the rate constants of dissociative and ternary recombination reactions of argon ions on the basis of the results of ballistic experiments

AbstractExperimental data on the change in the electron density in the wake of a ballistic object traveling at velocities V ∞=3.4–4.9 km/s in argon at pressures p ∞=30–100 Torr are processed and analyzed. A reaction scheme is proposed which takes into account the recombination of charged particles, processes of ionic conversion, and the excited states of the atom. The solution of the equations of a nonequilibrium boundary layer for flow in the wake is used to formulate the inverse problem of determining the rate constants for dissociative recombination Ar 2 + +e→Ar+Ar and ternary recombination Ar++e+Ar→Ar+Ar. The “nearest-neighbor” approximation is used to obtain theoretically an expression for the ternary recombination coefficient as a function of temperature and pressure. Numerous solutions of inverse problems and a comparison with experiments demonstrates the validity of the expression obtained for the ternary recombination coefficient. It is shown that this expression is valid for moderate pressures and complements the Pitaevskii result for low pressures and the Langevin result for high pressures.

Determination of rate constants for nonequilibrium reactions in gases with participation of electrons from ballistic experiments

Investigations on determination of the rate constants for reactions in nonequilibrium processes from ballistic experiments are reviewed. We obtained and give here the constants fro dissociative recombination in air, nitrogen, argon, krypton, and xenon and also the constants for ternary recombination of Al+ and the attachment constants for aluminum oxides.

Negative-ion emission during laser ablation of multicomponent materials

The time of flight technique coupled with an electrostatic energy filter has been used for composition and energy-distribution analysis of the ion species emitted during laser ablation of multicomponent materials Y-Ba-Cu-O, Pb-Sn-Te. The negative-ion output and kinetic-energy distribution as a function of the laser wavelength and the laser fluence on the target were measured. A high output of the negative ions of matrix elements comparable with the positive-ion emission was detected. The barium negative-ion formation was observed in spite of the negative electron affinity of alkaline earth elements in the ground electronic state. The mechanism of negative-ion formation based on the ternary collisional recombination in the laser plasma is analyzed.

Possible use of recombination for selective effects on the populations of excited atomic and ionic levels. I

Studies of recombination in a plasma of moderate density are reviewed. Conclusions are drawn regarding the possible use of ternary recombination to produce elevated populations of high-lying excited atomic and ionic levels and regarding the conditions in a gas-discharge plasma which provide the sharpest differences among these populations, with the higher-lying levels populated predominantly. There are additional recombination processes which could produce elevated populations in certain cases in the high-lying excited levels of atoms and ions haying displaced levels: radiationless two-particle recombination and ternary recombination of ions formed by the stripping of an electron from an inner shell.

Photometric investigations of alkali metals in hydrogen flame gases - II. The study of excess concentrations of hydrogen atoms in burnt gas mixtures

Photometric measurements on alkali metals in hydrogen-oxygen flame gases, diluted with various proportions of nitrogen, are interpreted as giving a measure of the concentration of free hydrogen atoms, which persist in these gases for several milliseconds after primary combustion. These concentrations are well in excess of those expected from thermodynamic equilibrium, especially towards the lower end of the range of temperatures studied (2400 to 1600°K). Two kinds of measurement have been made. (i) Comparison of the intensities of the Na D lines and the Li resonance doublets, for equal traces of the two elements present in the gases. The amount of free lithium is modified by the balanced process, Li + H 2 O ⇌ LiOH + H, whereas corresponding reactions for sodium are negligible. Using estimated equilibrium constants for these reactions, [H] can be obtained. (ii) Measurements of the change in intensity of the Na D lines when 0∙01 to 0∙5% of chlorine or its compounds (a large excess over the sodium) are added to the flame gases. NaCl is considered to be formed by the balanced reactions Na + HCl ⇌ NaCl + H. The concentration of HCl, the most important chlorine compound in the hydrogen-rich flame gases, may be obtained from the total chlorine added. Using estimated equilibrium constants for the above reaction, [H] can again be obtained. The agreement between the [H] values obtained by these two independent methods is good. The decrease of [H] with height in the gases is consistent with ternary recombination towards full equilibrium. A general discussion of excess radical concentrations in hydrogen flame gases is given, for hydroxyl radicals and oxygen atoms as well as hydrogen atoms. The conclusions reached are supported by experimental evidence. A further discussion of the way in which the amounts of chlorine used in the experiments may affect the other radical concentrations is given.