Decay of the triplet state in aromatic vapours
Abstract
The kinetics of decay of the lowest triplet states of aromatic hydrocarbons in the vapour phase have been studied by flash photolysis. The decay is explained in terms of a triplet–triplet annihilation and an intramolecular radiationless process with a rate of decay of the order of 103 s–1, which is much larger than that observed in the solid phase, due to thermal population of high triplet vibronic levels.