| An apparatus has been constructed to permit the measurement of photon induced gaseous reactions using Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR). The apparatus consists of a tubular reaction chamber surrounded by an annular ultra-violet (UV) discharge chamber. The reaction chamber has infrared windows that allow for FTIR spectroscopy. The apparatus was tested, refined, and perfected. Preliminary experiments were conducted on gaseous samples, and FTIR spectra before and after UV photon irradiation were compared. In one experiment the sample gas was mixed with oxygen and again irradiated. In another experiment the sample gas was mixed with hydrogen peroxide vapor and gas discharge photon irradiated. In all the experiments the irradiation caused the dissociation of the sample gas and the formation of product gases. The end-product gas in all the experiments contained carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide FTIR absorption peaks. Several FTIR absorption peaks could not be clearly identified. |
