Shock-tube measurements of the band strengths of HBO2 and OBF in the short wavelength infrared

Shock-tube measurements are described for the quantitative spectral measurement of the i.r. signatures and band strengths of molecular boron species. The boron species were effectively isolated under conditions of optimum concentration and calculated thermodynamic conditions using the shock tube technique. Spectral measurements were performed using a scanning i.r. spectrometer which was specially designed for these experiments. System calibration experiments were performed using shock heated CO and CO₂ mixtures in diluent argon, and the measured band strengths were in excellent agreement with the accepted values for these molecules. Quantitative spectral measurements were performed on the HBO₂ fundamentals at 2.7 and 5.0 μm and OBF at 5.0 μm. The corresponding band strength values measured for these band systems were 650, 1375, and 1760 cm^-2 amagat^-1, respectively.