Collision dynamics of OH(X 2Πi,v=12)

Collisional removal rate constants for the OH radical in v=12 of the ground electronic state are measured for the colliders CO2, O2, N2, H2, He, and Ar. OH molecules, generated in v=8 by the reaction of hydrogen atoms with ozone, are excited to v=12 by direct overtone excitation with pulsed infrared laser light. The temporal evolution of the v=12 radicals is probed as a function of collider gas pressure by a time-delayed pulsed ultraviolet probe laser. The probe laser is used to excite the molecules via the B 2Σ+–X 2Πi(0,12) electronic transition, and the resulting B 2Σ+–A 2Σ+ fluorescence is detected. We measure rate constants for CO2:(5.6±1.5)×10−11; O2:(1.6±0.2)×10−11; He:(3.6±0.6)×10−12; H2:(3.0±0.8)×10−12; Ar:(2.6±0.5)×10−12; N2:(2.5±0.7)×10−12 (all in units of cm3 s−1). These rate constants are over fifty times faster in all cases than the vibrational relaxation rate constants for the lower levels (v=1 and v=2) of the ground state.