Knowledge Bank

Samples of $CFBr3,CF2Br2$, and $CF3Br$ at high dilution In argon were deposited at $15\circ K$ and simultaneously photoionized by argon resonance radiation from a microwave discharge, the products being studied by infrared spectroscopy. Similar samples of these parent compounds were subjected to radiolysis during condensation by a beam of 2.0 keV protons. The products formed in these various experiments were photolyzed with a high-pressure Hg arc, using successive cut-off filters in a stepwise manner; the photolysis wavelengths were gradually decreased from near infrared light to the 220 nm limit of the Hg arc. The positions of the numerous product absorptions, and their different behavior upon photolysis, indicate that several new cationic, neutral, and anionic species were formed. Among the molecular species observed for the first time are the daughter cations $CFBr2+$ and $CF2Br+$, the three parent cations, the neutral radicals $CFBr2$ and $CF2Br$, and the daughter anions $CFBr2-$ and $CF2Br-$. These new species are completely analogous to the chlorine-substituted products formed in similar experiments on the Freon series $CFCl3,CF2Cl2$, and $CF3Cl$, which have been reported recently.""