Laser initiated thermal reactions and isotopically selective decomposition of 1,1,1-trichloroethane

✍ Scribed by G.A. McRae; M. Ivanco; R.A. Back

• Publisher: Elsevier Science
• Year: 1991
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 529 KB
• Volume: 185
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0009-2614
• DOI: 10.1016/0009-2614(91)80146-o

✦ Synopsis

Multiphoton decomposition studies of 1 ,l,l-trichloroethane (TCE) with a pulsed CO1 laser arc reported. Pressure-independent decomposition, suggesting a collisionless process, was found for fluences of I I J/cm2 with 60 ns pulses, focused to a waist of 1.2 mm, for pressures up to 8 kPa. After 1300 pulses a 50% decomposition of a 16 cm3 sample was observed. However, isotope separation studies with dilute mixtures of TCE-d, in TCE-h, showed no selectivity, which is inconsistent with a collisionless process, and suggest a thermal reaction. Similar studies with a shorter, 10 ns, pulse of the same total fluence, on the other hand, indicate that selectivities greater than IO4 can be expected. The implications of these apparently conflicting results for laser isotope separation of deuterium are dlscussed.