Energy transfer in the quenching of singlet molecular oxygen - III. Application of statistical theory

The vibrational energy distribution in molecules which have quenched O2(1∑+g) to O2(1∆g) or O2 (1∆g) to O2(3∑-g) is interpreted in terms of the statistical theory. This theory is extended to include cases where initial rotational and translational energy contributes to vibrational excitation of the products. A common linear surprisal plot is observed in the quenching both of O2(1∑) and O2(1∆) by a number of molecules. Strongly inverted vibrational distributions with ⋋v= - 7.5 are inferred for both products of the quenching step.