INFRARED ABSORPTION SPECTROSCOPY OF THE PRODUCTS OF A CORONA DISCHARGE FREE JET EXPANSION

Author Institution: Department of Chemistry, Florida State UniversityCorona excited free jet expansions have been shown to be useful in the production of rotationally cold radicals and molecular ions. Several groups currently use this device as an ultraviolet/visible emission source. In our work we are evaluating a corona excited jet as a radical source for infrared laser spectroscopy. The short path length and low radical density are handicaps to direct absorption detection, but these problems can be mitigated with a slit jet. A slit jet enhances detection by increasing path length for the laser and by decreasing Doppler broadening as compared to an axially symmetric jet. Details of the slit jet design and electrode configurations will be presented together with our preliminary observations of several molecular fragments