Kinetics of iodine monofluoride excitation by energetic nitrogen
Abstract
We studied the production and loss of IF (Iodine MonoFluoride) in our flow system using a laser-induced fluorescence diagnostic for measuring IF number densities. We related the production of F-atoms to the residence time of CF4 in the microwave discharge and found a yield of about 0.3 F-atoms per CF4 molecule under typical operating conditions. We identified flow conditions that produce complete reaction of CF3I in the injector and showed that a negligible amount of IF is destroyed in the injector under these conditions. Some loss of IF in the main flow tube was found at low flow velocities; however, this loss appeared to be negligible at higher velocities and permitted us to operate in a regime where IF number densities were directly related to the amount of CF3I flowing into the injector. We also found that operation of the injector using excess CF3I resulted in the deposition of an optically opaque thin film on the reactor walls. This required us to operate in excess F-atoms and eliminated the need to measure absolute F-atom number densities.
- Publication:
-
Planetary Science Inst. Report
- Pub Date:
- October 1985
- Bibcode:
- 1985psi..rept.....P
- Keywords:
-
- Energy Transfer;
- Excitation;
- Fluorescence;
- Fluorides;
- Iodine Compounds;
- Nitrogen;
- Reaction Kinetics;
- Transition Probabilities;
- Injectors;
- Velocity;
- Vibrational Spectra;
- Yield;
- Atomic and Molecular Physics