Tunable diode laser measurements of carbon monoxide energy distributions from acrolein photodissociation at 193 nm

Abstract

Rovibrational energy distributions and average translational energies for CO photofragments produced by the 193-nm photolysis of gas-phase acrolein have been measured. A tunable infrared diode laser system was used to probe the CO fragment. Energy release to the CO translational [P 1,0 (16)], rotational (=0), and vibrational degrees of freedom can be described by the effective temperatures 1380, 2750, and 2230 K, respectively. A simple phase space model, consistent with a two-step mechanism where radical pair formation occurs prior to the formation of free CO, accurately predicts rotational and vibrational energy distributions