Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 16, 2026

Measurement and Analysis of Atomic Hydrogen and Diatomic Molecular AlO, C2, CN, and TiO Spectra Following Laser-induced Optical Breakdown
Published on: February 14, 2014
Photodissociation cross section of ClOOCl at 330 nm
Bing Jin1, I-Cheng Chen, Wen-Tsung Huang
1Institute of Atomic and Molecular Sciences, Academia Sinica, Taipei 10617, Taiwan.
Abstract:
The photolysis rate of ClOOCl is crucial in the catalytic destruction of polar stratospheric ozone. In this work, we determined the photodissociation cross section of ClOOCl at 330 nm with a molecular beam and with mass-resolved detection. The photodissociation cross section is the product of the absorption cross section and the dissociation quantum yield. We formed an effusive molecular beam of ClOOCl at a nozzle temperature of 200 or 250 K and determined its photodissociation probability by measuring the decrease of the ClOOCl intensity upon laser irradiation. By comparing with a reference molecule (Cl(2)), of which the absorption cross section and dissociation quantum yield are well-known, we determined the absolute photodissociation cross section of ClOOCl at 330 nm to be (2.31 +/- 0.11) x 10(-19) cm(2) at 200 K and (2.47 +/- 0.12) x 10(-19) cm(2) at 250 K. Impurity interference has been a well-recognized problem in conventional spectroscopic studies of ClOOCl; our mass-resolved measurement directly overcomes such a problem. This measurement of the ClOOCl photolysis cross section at 330 nm is particularly useful in constraining its atmospheric photolysis rate, which in the polar stratosphere peaks near this wavelength.
Related Concept Videos
UV–Vis Spectroscopy: Molecular Electronic Transitions
IR Absorption Frequency: Delocalization
In IR spectroscopy,...
Molecular Spectroscopy: Absorption and Emission
IR Spectroscopy: Hooke's Law Approximation of Molecular Vibration
According to Hooke's law, the vibrational frequency is directly proportional to the...
UV–Vis Spectroscopy of Conjugated Systems
One of the factors influencing λmax is the extent of conjugation in the...
UV–Vis Spectroscopy: Beer–Lambert Law

