PHOTOLYSIS OF IODOETHANE - ATOMIC-HYDROGEN GENERATION

Results are reported on the photolysis and photoionization of iodoethane under collisionless conditions. Although the halogen-carbon bond is the weakest bond, H-atom production is observed following the photolysis of iodoethane at 193 and 248 nm. The H atoms are probed using two-photon (121.6+364.7 nm) ionization, and H-atom Doppler profiles at Lyman-alpha are presented. Time-of-flight mass spectra and power dependence studies are also reported. Mechanistically, the ethyl radical is implicated as being a key intermediate, and the overall dissociation/ionization behavior is discussed in terms of the different electronic transitions involved with the excitation processes.