CO2 laser-induced photolysis of spirohexane: Time resolved observation of vibrationally excited 1,3-butadiene

Vibrationally excited spirohexane (SHX) generated in CO₂ laser irradiation undergoes photolysis producing ethylene, 1,3-butadiene and a C₄ compound as major products. Collisional energy pooling plays a major role in the multiphoton excitation process. Time-resolved formation of 1,3-butadiene is monitored by UV absorption from which the unimolecular rate constant for SHX dissociation is found to be 5.6 × 10⁵ s⁻¹. A red shift of 4O nm observed in the transient UV absorption spectrum has been assigned to nascent 1,3-butadiene, which suggests that vibrationally hot 1,3-butadiene molecules are formed. The effects of laser energy fluence and pressure of SF₆ as a sensitizer on dissociation yield are also investigated.