FAST BEAM STUDIES OF N3 PHOTODISSOCIATION

A new fast radical beam apparatus has been used to study the photodissociation cross section of N3 as a function of wavelength. Neutralization of a fast negative ion beam by photodetachment is used to create a beam of cold. mass-selected radicals, with subsequent photodissociation and efficient detection of the neutral fragments. N3 was observed to predissociate throughout the first electronic absorption near 270 nm. High-resolution predissociation spectra were obtained which show rotationally resolved structure. Time-of-flight measurements of the kinetic energy release confirm that the lowest energy dissociation pathway which occurs is the first spin-allowed channel producing N(2D) + N2(1-SIGMA-g+). The photoelectron spectrum of N3- was also obtained, yielding an electron affinity of 2.68 +/- 0.01 eV for N3.