VIBRATIONAL RELAXATION OF HYDROGEN

Author Institution: Department of Chemistry, Catholic University of AmericaRates of vibrational relaxation of $D_{2}-D_{2}$, HD-HD, $D_{2}-H_{2}$, and $D_{2}-HD$ have been measured by a laser-induced vibrational fluorescence technique. A pulsed HCl chemical laser has been used to vibrationally excite HCl molecules in hydrogen gaseous mixtures. The signals of HCl vibrational fluorescence in the mixtures are followed and studied. Comparison of probabilities of vibrational relaxation among various hydrogen isotopes indicates that vibrational energy of hydrogen is transferred into both rotational and translational degrees of freedom. This work was supported by ACS-PRF Grant