REACTION OF PULSED-LASER EVAPORATED MAGNESIUM ATOMS WITH OXYGEN - INFRARED-SPECTRA OF LINEAR OMGO AND MGOMGO IN SOLID ARGON

Pulsed laser evaporated magnesium atoms were codeposited with O2 in excess argon on a 10 K substrate. The sharp dominant product band at 767.7 cm-1 showed magnesium and oxygen isotopic splittings and shifts in excellent agreement with shifts predicted for linear OMgO. Sharp 971.7- and 591.7-cm-1 bands exhibited isotopic shifts appropriate for the linear MgOMgO species. The pulsed laser evaporation process imparts sufficient kinetic energy to Mg atoms to provide the activation energy for insertion into the O2 molecule.