The vibrational state distributions in both products of the reaction: O(P) + NO2 → O2 + NO

A laser pulse-and-probe method has been used to determine the nascent vibrational populations in NO(v=0–4) and O₂(v=6–11) formed in the thermal reaction: O(³P) + NO₂ → O₂(v) + NO(v). A frequency-tripled Nd: YAG laser is used to photolyse NO₂, diluted tenfold in Ar, and laser-induced fluorescence spectroscopy in the NO A ²Σ⁺-X ²Π and O₂ B ³Σ⁻_u -X ³Σ⁻_g electronic band system is used both to follow the kinetics of individual vibrational states and to determine the nascent vibrational distributions. The majority of the NO product is formed in v = 0 and the average vibrational yield is ≈ 4.6%. The O₂ populations fall monotonically from v = 6 to 11 in a distribution close to what is expected on prior grounds. Based on a surprisal analysis, the average vibrational energy yield in O₂ is ≈ 26%. The nature of the reaction dynamics is discussed.