Time-resolved photodissociation of the molecular ions of propyl phenyl ethers

Study of the propene elimination from gaseous C3H7OPh reveals that the barrier for nPrOPh is 0.6 electron volts above the thermochemical threshold. Randomization of all the side chain hydrogens during the course of propene expulsion occurs when the rate of decomposition is very fast. NO intermediate pathway exists for the ProPh.+ dissociation process eventhough the theoretical predictions indicate the presence of a pathway with a rate as high as 100000 per second.