The photodissociation dynamics of alkyl radicals

The photodisscociation dynamics of the alkyl radicals i-propyl (CH(CH3)2) and t-butyl (C(CH3)3) are investigated by H-atom photofragment imaging. While i-propyl is excited at 250 nm, the photodynamics of t-butyl are explored over a large energy range using excitation wavelengths between 347 nm and 233 nm. The results are compared to those obtained previously for ethyl, CH3CH2, and to those reported for t-butyl using 248 nm excitation. The translational energy (ET) distribution of the H-atom photofragments is bimodal and appears rather similar for all three radicals. The low ET part of the distribution shows an isotropic photofragment angular distribution, while the high ET part is associated with a considerable anisotropy. Thus, for t-butyl, two H-atom loss channels of roughly equal importance have been identified in addition to the CH3-loss channel reported previously. A mechanism for the photodissociation of alkyl radicals is suggested that is based on interactions between Rydberg- and valence states.