Kinetic studies of ground state arsenic atoms, as[4p3(4S)], by time-resolved attenuation of atomic resonance radiation

Abstract

A kinetic study of ground state arsenic atoms, As[4p³(⁴S)], generated by repetitive pulsed irradiation and monitored photoelectrically in absorption by time-resolved attenuation of atomic resonance radiation at λ= 189.0 nm [5s(⁴P_5/2)â†� 4p³(⁴S)], is presented. The decay of As(4⁴S) was monitored in the presence of various gases for which absolute second order rate constants (k_R, cm³ molecule^–1 s^–1, 300 K) are reported: O₂(5.0 ± 0.3 × 10^–13); Cl₂(6.1 ± 0.9 × 10^–12); NO(2.8 ± 0.2 × 10^–13); N₂O(<5 × 10^–16): C₂H₂(3.9 ± 0.3 × 10^–13); C₂H₄(1.7 ± 0.0 × 10^–13) and AsCl₃(1.0 ± 0.2 × 10^–11). These data are discussed and compared, where appropriate, with analogous data for the other group V ground state atoms and with the data for the optically metastable states, As[4p³(²D_J)] and As[4p³(²P_J)].