A time-resolved lif study of the kinetics of OH(ν = 0) and OH(ν = 1) with HCl and HBr

The kinetics of OH(ν = 0) and OH(ν = 1) have been followed using pulsed photolysis of H₂O or HNO₃ to generate hydroxyl radicals, and time-resolved, laser-induced fluorescence to observe the rates of their subsequent removal in the presence of HCl or HBr. The experiments yield the following rate constants (cm³ molecule^?1 s^?1) at 298 ± 4 K: OH(ν = 0) + HCl: k_o = (6.8 ± 0.25) × 10^?13; OH(ν = 0) + HBr: k_o = (11.2 ± 0.45) × 10^?12; OH(ν = 1) + HCl: k₁ = (9.7 ± 1.0) × 10^?13; OH(gn = 1) + HBr; k₁ = (8.1 ± 1.05) × 10^?12 For OH(ν = 1), the measurements do not distinguish between loss by reaction and relaxation, and the fact that k₁ > k_o for HCl is tentatively attributed to relaxation, probably by near-resonant vibrational—vibrational energy transfer. Clearly, neither of these exothermic, low-activation-energy reactions is enhanced to any great extent, if at all, by vibrational excitation of the OH radical.ft]*|Present address: Battelle/Pacific Northwest Laboratories, P.O. Box 999, Richland, Washington 99352, USA.