The photodissociation dynamics of cyclic sulfides probed with tunable undulator radiation

Abstract

The combination of tunable synchrotron radiation with photofragment translational spectroscopy has been used to probe the photodissociation dynamics of a variety of cyclic sulfides. The results demonstrate the many advantages of using synchrotron radiation in place of electron impact ionization in photochemistry studies. Our universal and selective experimental approach is easily able to distinguish the ground state S(3P) and the first excited state S(1D), for example, and provides photoion yield spectra of all products. These measurements afford unambiguous identification of the primary decay pathways, as well as unique insights into the properties of the product species, often radicals or transient metastable species.