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This study utilized a mass-resolved detection of ClOOCl to determine its photodissociation cross section, which is the product of the absorption cross section and dissociation quantum yield. An effusive molecular beam of ClOOCl was generated and its photodissociation probability was determined through measuring the decrease in the ClOOCl beam intensity upon laser irradiation. By comparing with a reference molecule, the absolute cross sections of ClOOCl were obtained without knowing its absolute concentration. The determined cross section of ClOOCl at 248.4 nm is (8.85±0.42)×10-18 cm2 at 200 K, significantly larger than previously reported values. The temperature dependence of the cross section was investigated at 248.4 nm in the range of 160–260 K; only a very small and negative temperature effect was observed. Because 248.4 nm is very close to the peak of the UV absorption band of ClOOCl, this work provides a new calibration point for normalizing relative absorption spectra of ClOOCl. In this work, the photodissociation cross section at 266 nm and 200 K was also reported to be (4.13±0.21)×10-18 cm2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ab initio/Rice–Ramsperger–Kassel–Marcus (RRKM) approach has been applied to investigate the photodissociation mechanism of benzene at various wavelengths upon absorption of one or two UV photons followed by internal conversion into the ground electronic state. Reaction pathways leading to various decomposition products have been mapped out at the G2M level and then the RRKM and microcanonical variational transition state theories have been applied to compute rate constants for individual reaction steps. Relative product yields (branching ratios) for C6H5+H, C6H4+H2, C4H4+C2H2, C4H2+C2H4, C3H3+C3H3, C5H3+CH3, and C4H3+C2H3 have been calculated subsequently using both numerical integration of kinetic master equations and the steady-state approach. The results show that upon absorption of a 248 nm photon dissociation is too slow to be observable in molecular beam experiments. In photodissociation at 193 nm, the dominant dissociation channel is H atom elimination (99.6%) and the minor reaction channel is H2 elimination, with the branching ratio of only 0.4%. The calculated lifetime of benzene at 193 nm is about 11 μs, in excellent agreement with the experimental value of 10 μs. At 157 nm, the H loss remains the dominant channel but its branching ratio decreases to 97.5%, while that for H2 elimination increases to 2.1%. The other channels leading to C3H3+C3H3, C5H3+CH3, C4H4+C2H2, and C4H3+C2H3 play insignificant role but might be observed. For photodissociation upon absorption of two UV photons occurring through the neutral “hot” benzene mechanism excluding dissociative ionization, we predict that the C6H5+H channel should be less dominant, while the contribution of C6H4+H2 and the C3H3+C3H3, CH3+C5H3, and C4H3+C2H3 radical channels should significantly increase. © 2004 American Institute of Physics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The photodissociation of azomethane following absorption of a single 351 nm photon was studied using the method of molecular beam photofragment translational spectroscopy. The dissociation was observed to proceed via cleavage of both C–N bonds to yield N2 and two methyl radicals. The measured time-of-flight spectra show evidence that the two methyl radicals possess unequal velocities in the azomethane center of mass suggesting that the dissociation is not symmetric. The angles between the asymptotic center-of-mass velocities for all three fragments are strongly correlated, implying that the methyldiazenyl radical (CH3N2) intermediate decomposes within a fraction of its rotational period. We conclude, therefore, that the dissociation is concerted, not stepwise as was inferred from recent time-resolved experiments. The overall translational energy distributions for all the photofragments in the azomethane center of mass reveal that an average of 60% of the total available energy appears as translation. A possible mechanism, consistent with the experimental findings, will be proposed and discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]