Dissociation rates of benzene at VUV excitation

Photodissociation dynamics of benzene under 193 nm and 157 nm photon excitation have been studied using the molecular beam photofragmentation spectroscopic technique. By detecting the H atom products produced away from the photolysis region, the lifetime of the excited benzene molecule as well as the kinetic energy distribution of the H atom elimination process can be determined simultaneously. Experimental results show that the H atom elimination from benzene occurs on the ground electronic state in which the excess energy is likely fully randomized.