CHEMILUMINESCENT REACTIONS OF GROUP 2 (CA, SR, AND BA) ELEMENTS WITH H2O2, T-BUOOH, HNO3, AND NO2 - REACTIVITIES AND PRODUCT STATE DISTRIBUTIONS

The chemiluminescent (CL) reactions Of group 2 metal elements (Ca, Sr, and Ba) in both the ground and metastable states with various OH- and /or O-containing molecules have been studied in a beam-gas configurati on. In reactions with OH-containing molecules, it was found that while the ground state atoms produce both the metal oxide and metal hydroxi de in excited electronic states, the metastable atoms produce solely m etal hydroxide. Also, spectral changes have been observed which can be attributed to changes in the reaction exoergicity or the collision ge ometry dictated by various scattering gases. Computer simulations of t he observed CL spectra have afforded further insight into the potentia l energy surfaces which govern the reactions.