COUPLING OF A CORONA DISCHARGE TO MATRIX-ISOLATION FOR THE PRODUCTION OF INTERMEDIATES - THE CCL4 SYSTEM

An apparatus to couple a high voltage, low power corona discharge to a matrix isolation system has been designed and tested by application to the CCl4 system. Argon was used as the discharge/expansion gas as well as the matrix material. A very high yield of the CCl3 radical was obtained, along with a moderate yield of the CCl3+ cation and related cationic species, along with several minor products. The results obtained here compare very favorably with earlier results from microwave discharge and excimer laser irradiation studies. The corona discharge is thus a simple, inexpensive and effective source of intermediates for matrix spectroscopic study.