Dynamics of photodissociation of XeF2 in organic solvents†
Abstract
Transient electronic absorption measurements with 1 ps time resolution follow XeF2 photoproducts in acetonitrile and chlorinated solvents. Ultraviolet light near 266 nm promptly breaks one Xe–F bond, and probe light covering 320–700 nm monitors the products. Some of the cleaved F atoms remain in close proximity to an XeF fragment and perturb the electronic states of XeF. The time evolution of a perturbed spectral feature is used to monitor the FXe–F complex population, which decays in less than 5 ps. Decay can occur through geminate recombination, diffusive separation or reaction of the complex with the solvent.