Strontium Monoxide Measurements in Methane-air Flames

The spectroscopy of alkaline earth metal compounds has been an area of active research for several decades. This is at least in part stimulated by the application of these compounds to practical areas ranging from technology to medicine. The use of these compounds in the field of pyrotechnics was the motivation for a series of flame emission spectroscopy (FES) experiments with strontium containing compounds. Specifically, strontium monoxide (SrO) is studied as a candidate radiator for the diagnostic of methane-air flames.

SrO emissions have been observed in flames with temperatures in the range of 1200-1600-K for two compounds: strontium hydroxide and strontium chloride. Comparisons are made of the measured SrO spectra to simulated spectra in the near-infrared region (700-900-nm) and conditions of local thermodynamic equilibrium (LTE) are discussed.