INTERNAL ENERGY DISTRIBUTION OF CH$_{3}$O (X$^{2}E$) FROM PHOTODISSOCIATION OF METHYL NITRATE

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2006

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Ohio State University

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The methoxy (CH3O) radical has attracted a great deal of attention in the literature due to its unique spectroscopy, as well as its importance as a reactive intermediate in combustion and atmospheric chemistry. In this study, we employ CH3O as a dynamical probe of the photodissociation dynamics of methyl nitrate, CH3ONO2, at 193 nm. Rotationally-resolved spectra of the CH3O photoproduct were recorded in the A2A1\relbarX2E system under both nascent and jet-cooled conditions using laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) spectroscopy. CH3O A2A1\relbarX2E transitions could be simulated effectively using known spectroscopic constants at the lowest temperatures achieved under jet-cooled conditions. Spectra recorded at warmer temperatures are being used to refine reported spectroscopic constants. Under nascent conditions, transitions were observed from the vibrationless level of CH3O (X2E) as well as with C\relbarO stretch vibrational excitation, and the vibrational branching ratio is determined. The rotational excitation of these vibrational bands was fit to a Boltzmann distribution to extract nascent rotational temperatures. The experimental data indicate that the CH3O fragment is produced with minimal internal energy (1% of the available energy) following photodissociation of CH3ONO2 at 193 nm.

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Author Institution: Department of Chemistry, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104; Department of Chemistry, Amherst College, Amherst, MA 01002

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