Does the energy transfer from Ar(1s) atoms to N 2 lead to dissociation

Dielectric-barrier discharges (DBDs) in Ar-N-2 mixtures, with N-2 fractions in 0.1-1% range, would be attractive alternatives to DBDs in pure N-2 if energy-transfer reactions between Ar(1s) atoms and N-2 molecules were an efficient source of N atoms. Attempts to functionalize polyolefins in flowing postdischarges fed by such DBDs, as well as the search for the First Positive System in the emission spectrum, however, failed. Evidently, the energy-transfer reactions do not produce N atoms. For Ar(1s(3)) and Ar(1s(5)) metastable states, this fact has already been reported in the literature. For Ar(1s(2)) and Ar(1s(4)) resonant states, a quantitative argument is derived in this paper: energy transfer from Ar(1s) atoms to N-2 molecules is not an efficient source of N atoms.