THE A3-SIGMA-U+(A11U)-]X1-SIGMA-G+(X0G+) TRANSITION OF BI2

The a3 SIGMA(u)+ (a11u) --> X1 SIGMA(g)+ (X0g+) near-infrared transition of Bi2, which was recently observed in the thermal emission spectrum of bismuth vapor by Barrow et al. (Chem. Phys. Lett. 214, 293-296, 1993), has been found in the spectrum of the chemiluminescence from the reaction of bismuth vapor and microwave-discharged oxygen in a fast-flow system. The spectrum consisting of 21 short sequences of red-degraded bands was measured at high resolution with a Fourier-transform spectrometer. Vibrational and rotational analysis of the bands have yielded molecular constants of the a11u and X0g+ states which are in good agreement with the data of Barrow et al. (C) 1994 Academic Press, Inc.