Calculation of absorption contours and excitation selectivity of isotopic molecules ¹²CO and ¹³CO for implementation of photocatalytic reactions

Abstract

The possibilities of the isotope-selective excitation of molecules by CO laser radiation. More specifically, the problem of determining the conditions of the preferable excitation of heavy isotope ³C¹⁸O compared to the light isotope ¹²C¹⁸O is set. A carbon monoxide molecule is capable of absorbing at hundreds of vibrational-rotational lines within the principal absorption band of the CO molecule over the 1200–2600 cm⁻¹ range. Since radiation absorption is negligibly low in the frequency range below 1900 cm-1 and there are no appreciably efficient radiation sources over the 2200–2600 cm⁻¹ range in which absorption can be observed, the 1900–2200 cm⁻¹ frequency range is considered in this work. The presented calculations may refer to the selective excitation of the gas phase in bulk and in gas absorbed on the surface.