DEVELOPMENT OF A MODULATED BEAM MASS SPECTROMETER APPARATUS FOR GAS-SOLID REACTION KINETICS STUDIES.

An apparatus combining the techniques of pulsed molecular beams and mass spectrometry was developed to study the kinetics of gas-surface reactions. This apparatus consists of a molecular beam source, a variable speed beam chopper, and a reaction chamber coupled to a high sensitivity, wide mass range mass spectrometer. Four separate areas connected only by slits are pumped by high speed diffusion pumps. New detector electronics have been added to the mass spectrometer providing for pulse detection. Some preliminary observations of the tungsten-oxygen reaction, part of a larger program for the study of the deleterious interaction of refractory structural materials with air, are presented to illustrate performance of the apparatus. Author