Time resolved FTIR emission measurements of the internal energies of NO formed in the O( 1 D) + N 2 O reaction, and energy transfer processes to N 2 O

Time resolved infrared emission from the fundamental and first overtone transitions of NO(v = 1–14), produced in the reaction of N2O with O(1D) has been analysed to determine the nascent vibrational distribution of NO. The electronically excited O atom was produced by the 193 nm laser photolysis of N2O. The measured vibrational distribution was found to be monotonically decreasing as a function of increasing v. Lower limits were determined for the average nascent rotational energy in v = 1–6, ranging from 4660 cm−1 (v = 1) to 3050 cm−1 (v = 6). Emission from N2O(011) was also observed and found to be attributable to energy transfer from internally excited N2 formed by photolysis of N2O. The relative yields of NO(v) and N2O(011) provided indirect evidence for a yield of at least 3.5% for N2(v = 1) produced by 193 nm photolysis of N2O.