Chemical Physics Letters, Vol.645, 76-83, 2016
Imaging NO elimination in the infrared multiphoton dissociation of nitroalkanes and alkyl nitrites
We present a DC slice imaging study of the decomposition of C2, C3 and C4 nitroalkanes and alkyl nitrites, focusing on the NO elimination channel, possibly a minor pathway. Infrared multiphoton dissociation (IRMPD) is used to induce dissociation on the ground electronic state under collisionless conditions. The channels that produced NO as a product were studied and compared among the target molecules to gain a better understanding of the isomerization of the nitroalkanes prior to dissociation. Trends in the total translational energy and NO rotational temperatures obtained from the images are discussed. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.