Low-temperature photoconductivity of matrix-isolated molecules

Abstract

It is proposed that photoionization of molecules may be studied by observing the photo-conductivity induced by them in matrices of simple molecular crystals with wide band-gaps. Photoconductivity has been observed in the near ultra-violet in dilute solid solutions of iodine in carbon dioxide at 77 K and in a series of substitued anilines in xenon at 40 K. Both the wave-length and light intensity dependence of the photoconductivity differ considerably from those of either the pure solutes or the pure matrices.