Ultrafast dissociation dynamics of ketones at 195 nm

The photodissociation dynamics of the 3s Rydberg state of three ketones (CH₃CO–R, R=C₂H₅, C₃H₇, and iso-C₄H₉) and the ensuing dissociation of the nascent acetyl radical following 195 nm excitation were investigated by ultrafast photoionization spectroscopy. The 3s state the lifetimes of these ketones are similar (2.5–2.9 ps), though lifetimes of the acetyl radical range from 8.6 ps for CH₃CO–C₂H₅, 15 ps for CH₃CO–C₃H₇, to 23 ps for CH₃CO–(iso-C₄H₉), which suggests that for larger R more vibrational degrees of freedom compete for the excess energy so that less energy is partitioned into the internal energy of the acetyl radical.