Absorption Cross Sections and Kinetics of Formation of AlO at 298 K

The rate coefficient of the Al + O2 reaction has been measured in a laser ablation-fast flow tube apparatus by monitoring atomic Al resonance absorption and AlO laser induced fluorescence (LIF). The rate constant has been found to be k(298 K) = (1.68 ± 0.24) × 10-10 cm3 molecule-1 s-1. Under conditions of near-stoichiometric conversion of Al into AlO, the absorption cross section of AlO at the bandhead of the B2Σ+(v'=0)←X2Σ+(v''=0) transition has been determined to be σ(298 K, 1 hPa) = (6.7 ± 1.6) × 10-15 cm2 molecule-1 (0.003 nm resolution), in very good agreement with theoretical predictions.