Investigating the ultraviolet photodissociation of bromocyclopropane with ultrafast electron diffraction
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: We have studied the photodissociation of gas-phase bromocyclopropane by 200 nm wavelength ultraviolet radiation using ultrafast electron diffraction. Bromocyclopropane is a prototypical molecule in the study of organobromides, a class of molecules that have a significant impact on atmospheric ozone depletion through their photochemistry. Previous studies have revealed two possible reaction pathways for the photodissociation of bromine from bromocyclopropane; either the C-Br bond dissociates, leaving behind a cyclopropyl ring, or there is a concerted opening of the cyclopropyl ring along with the C-Br bond dissociation. In this work, both our experimental and simulation results indicate that the majority of the UV-photoexcited BCP molecules (88% ± 11% in the experiment) follow the first reaction pathway, in which the cyclopropyl ring remains closed after homolytic C-Br bond cleavage. This direct bond dissociation occurs within the experimental time resolution of 270 fs. In order to differentiate between the possible reaction end-products, both of which have diffraction signals dominated by the bromine atom, a new analysis method has been employed, which is more sensitive to the structure of the end-products.
Source: The Journal of Chemical Physics
DOI: 10.1063/5.0293140
Authors: Jackson Lederer, J. Pedro F. Nunes, Conor D. Rankine, Andrew R. Attar, Kareem Hegazy, Fuhao Ji, Cuong Le, Ming-Fu Lin, Yusong Liu, Duan Luo, Andrew J. Orr-Ewing, Sajib Kumar Saha, Xiaozhe Shen, Xijie Wang, Matthew Ware, Stephen P. Weathersby, Kyle J. Wilkin, Thomas J. A. Wolf, Yanwei Xiong, Jie Yang, Martin Centurion
Language: English
Subfield: Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W4415861950