Photofragment translational spectroscopy of three body dissociations and free radicals

Abstract

This dissertation describes several three-body dissociations and the photodissociation of methyl radicals studied using photofragment translational spectroscopy. The first chapter provides an introduction to three body dissociation, examines current experimental methodology, and includes a discussion on the treatment of photofragment translational spectroscopy data arising from three-body fragmentation. The ultraviolet photodissociation of azomethane into two methyl radicals and nitrogen is discussed in chapter 2. Chapter 3 describes the photodissociation of acetone at 248 nm and 193 nm. At 248 nm the translational energy release from the initial C-C bond cleavage matches the exit barrier height and a comparison with results at 266 nm suggests that is invariant to the available energy. A fraction of the nascent CH{sub 3}CO radicals spontaneously dissociate following rotational averaging. The for the second C-C bond cleavage also matches the exit barrier height. At 193 nm the experimental data can be successfully fit assuming that the dynamics are analogous to those at 248 nm. A simplified model of energy partitioning which adequately describes the experimental results is discussed. Experiments on acetyl halides provide additional evidence to support the proposed acetone dissociation mechanism. A value of 17.0{+-}1.0 kcal/mole for the barrier height, CH{sub 3}CO decomposition has been determined.more » The photodissociation of methyl radical at 193 nm and 212.8 nm is discussed in the chapter 5. The formation of CH{sub 2} ({sup 1}A{sub l}) and H ({sup 2}S) was the only single photon dissociation pathway observed at both wavelengths.« less