Chemiluminescence spectra of the reaction products of gallium, indium, and thallium vapors with nitrous oxide

The search for active media for chemical lasers generating in the visible range has led to numerous investigations of the chemiluminescence of oxidation reactions of metals in the gas phase. In the present work, the chemiluminescence spectra of flames of gallium, indium, and thallium vapors in nitrous oxide in an argon flux are investigated. The chemiluminescence intensity was studied as a function of the total pressure in the reactor, the rate of admission of the nitrous oxide, the rate of admission of argon and the cell temperature. The oxide molecules formed are in vibrational levels of the electronic ground state that are close to the dissociational limit. As a result of collisions with argon atoms, the oxide molecule passes to the excited electronic state. The thermal effects of the above reaction and the equal dissociational energies of the oxide molecules are sufficient for excitation of the vibrational levels 10 and 2 of the excited electronic states of the GaO and InO molecules, respectively. Atomic chemiluminescence is evidently a consequence of collision of metal oxide molecules with metal atoms in the electronic ground states.