O(1D2)+H2→OH∣′94, N′H+H The anatomy of a reaction

Abstract

The OH(v′=4, N′=1) products of the photon-initiated reaction O(¹D₂)+H₂(v=0)→OH(v′, N′)+H have been probed using Doppler-resolved laser induced fluorescence. The data are used to extract the product state-resolved differential cross-section and excitation function. The state-specific angular distribution displays pronounced forward–backward peaks with a bias for backward scattering. The experimental data are compared with the results of QCT calculations, using two alternative abinitio versions of the ground 1¹A′ potential energy surface, and a recent abinitio version ofthe first excited 1¹A″ potential energy surface, in order to assess its possible influence on the overall dynamics of the reaction.