We present here a flash pyrolysis source coupled with a threshold photoelectron photoion coincidence (TPEPICO) spectrometer and vacuum ultraviolet synchrotron radiation to investigate the spectroscopy and photochemistry of free radicals. The radicals are produced from pyrolysis in a heated silicon carbide tube, and the TPEPICO scheme provides a strategy to obtain pure spectra of the radicals without contamination from other byproducts. As a representative example, the methyl radical was studied, and its threshold photoelectron spectrum shows a series of umbrella vibrational transitions. The adiabatic ionization energy of the methyl radical was determined to be 9.84 +/- 0.01 eV. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.