Use of Paramagnetic-Resonance Techniques in the Study of Atomic Oxygen Recombinations

Abstract

A method of making measurements of atomic recombination times with the use of a paramagnetic-resonance spectrometer and its advantages are described. The theory of the paramagnetic-resonance spectrometer applied to these measurements is presented. Methods for using both diffusion and flow systems for determining surface and volume recombination coefficients are analyzed. The operation of the system that was used is illustrated for atomic oxygen recombination. The surface recombination coefficient for oxygen atoms on a quartz surface is shown to be 3.2×10—4 per collision, and the second-order volume recombination coefficient was less accurately determined as 5×1015 cm6 mole—2 sec—1. The measurement of the diffusion coefficient of atomic oxygen is described. The possible application of these methods to further study of reaction rates is discussed.