Investigating the phase-dependent photochemical reaction dynamics of chlorine dioxide using resonance Raman spectroscopy

Abstract

Recent progress in understanding the phase-dependent reactivity demonstrated by halooxides is outlined. Specifically, resonance Raman intensity analysis (RRIA) and time-resolved resonance Raman (TRRR) studies of chlorine dioxide (OClO) photochemistry in solution are presented. Using RRIA, it has been determined that the excited-state structural evolution that occurs along the asymmetric-stretch coordinate in the gas phase is restricted in solution. The absence of evolution along this coordinate results in the preservation of groundstate symmetry in the excited state. The role of symmetry in defining the reaction coordinate and the solvent-solute interactions responsible for modification of the excited-state potential energy surface are discussed. TRRR studies are presented which demonstrate that geminate recombination of the primary photoproducts resulting in the reformation of ground-state OClO is a central feature of OClO photochemistry in solution. These studies also demonstrate that a fraction of photoexcited OClO undergoes photoisomerization to form ClOO, with the ground-state thermal decomposition of this species resulting in Cl production on the subnanosecond timescale. Finally, time-resolved anti-Stokes experiments are presented which demonstrate that the OClO vibrational-relaxation dynamics are solvent dependent. The current picture of OClO photochemistry derived from these studies is discussed, and future directions for study are outlined.