The emission excited in the association of atomic oxygen and nitrogen has been studied in a fast-flow low-pressure system by photoelectric and spectroscopic methods. The absolute rates of excitation of the products of these associative processes have been measured, and the effects of added quenching gases have been investigated. Specific excitation processes consistent with the present observations are discussed.

The loss rate O2(a 1Δg) on a variety of surfaces has been investigated. At 300 K, the most rapid deactivants are Cu, Ag, and Co, with Fe, Ni, Pt, and Pd being somewhat less active. Numerous metals exhibit very low activity, including Al, Au, and W. Quite different temperature dependences were observed among the metals, with the activity of Ag decreasing markedly with increasing temperature over the range 220–470 K, that of Ni increasing, and that of Pd showing little change. The loss-rate–temperature profiles of Fe, Co, and Ni are similar, paralleling the behavior observed in a separate study on these three metals for higher-lying electronically excited states O2.

The quantum yield for the production of O(1D) by photodissociation of O2 was measured in the 1160–1770 Å wavelength region. For wavelengths longer than 1390 Å, the quantum yields are unity and constant, with a sharp cutoff at about 1750 Å. For wavelengths shorter than 1390 Å, the O(1D) quantum yields depend strongly on wavelength. The positions of many of the structures correspond to Rydberg states identified by various authors, and the data show by which of the two principal dissociative channels, O(3P)+O(3P) or O(1D)+O(3P), the excited molecules predissociate. The total oxygen atom yields were also measured and clearly show that all photon absorption leads to dissociation in the spectral region studied. Possible identification of absorption to the 3Πu valence state has been made, with a peak at 1356 Å (9.14 eV).