Degree Department

Measurement of the Rate Coefficients for the Bimolecular and Termolecular Charge Transfer Reactions of He₂⁺ with Ne, Ar, N₂, CO, CO₂, and CH₄ (open access)

Measurement of the Rate Coefficients for the Bimolecular and Termolecular Charge Transfer Reactions of He₂⁺ with Ne, Ar, N₂, CO, CO₂, and CH₄

The problem with which this investigation is concerned is that of measuring the rate coefficients for termolecular charge transfer reactions of He2+ in atmospheric pressure afterglows with the minority reacting species. Of particular interest was the discovery that the presence of a third body can change an improbable charge transfer reaction involving He+2 into a very probable one, as in the case of the reaction with argon. For example, in Tables II and II it was shown that less than a 300 torr pressure of helium was required to double the effective rate of reaction of argon with He2+ while over 3000 torr was required for CH4. The sensitivity of the method has been sufficient to detect termolecular components as small as 2 x 10-30 cm /sec and values were found to range widely from 2 x 10 for Ne to 67 x 10-30 cm6/sec for CO2. The size of these termolecular rates not only served to explain specific anomalous efficiencies of the charge transfer process observed in atmospheric pressure lasers but also suggested the general importance of three-body ion-molecule reactions in higher pressure plasmas.
Date: May 1977
Creator: Lee, Francis Wha-Pyo
System: The UNT Digital Library