Photodissociation dynamics and the dissociation energy of vanadium monoxide, VO, investigated using velocity map imaging

Abstract

Velocity map imaging has been employed to study multi-photon fragmentation of vanadium monoxide (VO) via the C ⁴Σ⁻ state. The fragmentation dynamics are interpreted in terms of dissociation at the three-photon level, with the first photon weakly resonant with transitions to vibrational energy levels of the C ⁴Σ⁻ state. The dissociation channels accessed are shown to depend strongly on the vibrational level via which excitation takes place. Analysis of the evolution of the kinetic energy release spectrum with photon energy leads to a refined value for the dissociation energy of ground state VO of D₀(VO) = 53 126 ± 263 cm⁻¹.