MODEL FOR OXYGEN RECOMBINATION OF REACTION-CURED GLASS

This article briefly reviews the model for recombination of oxygen on a silicon-dioxide surface presented in detail in a previous paper. Data for oxygen recombination on reaction-cured glass (RCG), a silicon-dioxide-based material, is presented and compared with the Si-O2 recombination model. The model is modified slightly to better represent the oxygen-RCG system, but the essential feature of the model, the participation of the oxygen of the surface matrix itself, remains unchanged. The ramifications of the model toward the production of excited molecular oxygen is examined as it may pertain to surface heating during a re-entry. Data indicating that the predicted production of singlet-delta oxygen, and no higher-electronic-state oxygen is given in support of the model.