Vibrational Energy Transfer Kinetics in Molecular Disequilibrium. Final Technical Report

摘要

The present Calspan experiments have shown direct evidence of preferential vibrational pumping of two heavy isotopes of CO: exp 13 C exp 16 O and exp 12 C exp 18 O. The nature of the enhancement is generally consistent with the predictions of theoretical modeling. These are the first direct experimental demonstrations of this isotope selection method. The potential advantages of such a means of isotope separation are inherent in the V-V pumping process itself. Summarizing these: (1) Selectivity actually increases at higher reactant pressures, since the selection mechanism is collisional. Accordingly, rather high throughputs are possible, unlike other techniques in which molecular collisions actually decrease selectivity. (2) A variety of excitation methods can potentially be used - electric discharge, optical excitation by coherent or incoherent sources, or chemical excitation; laser excitation is not critical to the process. (3) The method can be applied to many isotopes of the lighter atoms. It is not inherently species-specific. (ERA citation 08:015573)