15min:

M. H. KABIR, V. AZYAZOV, I. O. ANTONOV AND M. C. HEAVEN, Department of Chemistry, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30322.

Oxygen-iodine lasers that utilize electrical discharges to produce O₂(a¹ _g) are currently being developed. The discharge generators differ from those used in conventional chemical oxygen iodine lasers in that they produce significant amounts of atomic oxygen. The post-discharge chemistry includes channels that are both beneficial and detrimental to the laser. The beneficial reactions result in the dissociation of I₂ while the detrimental processes cause direct and indirect removal of I(²P_1/2) (the upper level of the laser). We have examined kinetic processes relevant to the laser through studies of photo-initiated reactions in N₂O/I₂ mixtures. The reactions have been monitored using absorption spectroscopy, LIF, and time-resolved emission spectroscopy. A kinetic model has been developed from these data, and the rate constants for the deactivation of I(²P_1/2) by O(³P) (k = 1.2 x 10^-11 cm³ s^-1) has been determined for the first time.