Vacuum ultraviolet photodissociation dynamics of CO2 near 133 nm: The spin-forbidden O(3Pj=2,1,0) + CO(X1Σ+) channel

• Published in: The Journal of chemical physics 2019-12, Vol.151 (21), p.214306-214306
• Main Authors: Yu, Shengrui, Yuan, Daofu, Chen, Wentao, Zhou, Jiami, Yang, Xueming, Wang, Xingan
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Anisotropy; Atmospheric chemistry; Atomic energy levels; Carbon dioxide; Carbon monoxide; Channels; Dependence; Energy distribution; Kinetic energy; Organic chemistry; Photodissociation; Photoexcitation; Photolysis; Physics; Spin dynamics; Variation; Vibrational states; Wavelengths
• ISSN: 0021-9606; 1089-7690
• DOI: 10.1063/1.5129764

Understanding vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) photodissociation dynamics of CO2 is of considerable importance in the study of atmospheric chemistry and planetary chemistry. Yet, photodissociation dynamics of the spin-forbidden O(3Pj=2,1,0) + CO(X1Σ+) channel has not been clearly understood so far. Here, we study the O(3Pj) + CO(X1Σ+) dissociation processes in the VUV photodissociation of CO2 at the photolysis wavelengths between 129.02 and 134.67 nm by using the time-sliced velocity-mapped ion imaging technique. From the vibrational-resolved images of the O(3Pj=2,1,0) photofragment, the total kinetic energy releases, the CO(X1Σ+) cofragment vibrational state distributions, and the product angular distributions have been derived, respectively. The experimental observations show that the total kinetic energy releases for the three 3Pj spin-orbit states (j = 2, 1, 0) exhibit a broad CO(X1Σ+) vibrational energy distribution with significant inverted characteristics, especially at short photoexcitation wavelengths, indicating that the VUV photodissociation could take place in a relatively linear geometry of the triplet state, with one C–O bond extended and the other compressed. Furthermore, a notable photolysis wavelength dependent feature has also been found in the product angular distributions of all three spin-orbit channels (j = 2, 1, 0): Only the vibrational-state specific anisotropy parameter β values at 130.18 nm behave more anisotropic, while all those at other photolysis wavelengths are near the value β = 0.5 for O(3Pj=2,1) channels or β = 0.25 for the O(3Pj=0) channel, with small fluctuations. This anomalous phenomenon suggests that the different nonadiabatic interactions, such as singlet-triplet coupling, may play a key role in the formation of O(3Pj=2,1,0) + CO(X1Σ+) products, with strong photolysis wavelength dependence.