Dissociative photoionization of 1,3-butadiene: experimental and theoretical insights

The vacuum-ultraviolet photoionization and dissociative photoionization of 1,3-butadiene in a region ∼8.5-17 eV have been investigated with time-of-flight photoionization mass spectrometry using tunable synchrotron radiation. The adiabatic ionization energy of 1,3-butadiene and appearance energies for its fragment ions, C(4)H(5)(+), C(4)H(4)(+), C(4)H(3)(+), C(3)H(3)(+), C(2)H(4)(+), C(2)H(3)(+), and C(2)H(2)(+), are determined to be 9.09, 11.72, 13.11, 15.20, 11.50, 12.44, 15.15, and 15.14 eV, respectively, by measurements of photoionization efficiency spectra. Ab initio molecular orbital calculations have been performed to investigate the reaction mechanism of dissociative photoionization of 1,3-butadiene. On the basis of experimental and theoretical results, seven dissociative photoionization channels are proposed: C(4)H(5)(+) + H, C(4)H(4)(+) + H(2), C(4)H(3)(+) + H(2) + H, C(3)H(3)(+) + CH(3), C(2)H(4)(+) + C(2)H(2), C(2)H(3)(+) + C(2)H(2) + H, and C(2)H(2)(+) + C(2)H(2) + H(2). Channel C(3)H(3)(+) + CH(3) is found to be the dominant one, followed by C(4)H(5)(+) + H and C(2)H(4)(+) + C(2)H(2). The majority of these channels occur via isomerization prior to dissociation. Transition structures and intermediates for those isomerization processes were also determined.