H2‐Laser Photolysis Study of the Quenching of O2(b1g+) by H2 and D2

Abstract
An H2‐laser (δ ± 160 nm) was used to form metastable O2(b1 Σg+) molecules in the photolysis of O2. Monitoring the decay of the O2(b1 Σg+ → X3Σc) emission in the presence of H2 and D2 yields rate constants of k(H2) = (8.3 ± 1.2) ± 10−13 and of k(D2) = (1.4 ± 0.2) ± 10−14 cm3 s−1 for the respective quenching process at 298 K. Preliminary results indicate similar temperature dependences (approximately 6.2 kJ mol−1 activation energy) for both reactions.