High intensity,argon ion laser-jet photochemistry

A new technique for the study of high intensity solution photochemistry has been developed. With this laser-jet technique, a high velocity microjet is irradiated with the focussed output of an argon ion laser. Under these extremely high intensity conditions, photochemically generated transient species with suitable absorption properties are excited further and produce relatively large amounts of photoproducts which are not observed under low intensity conditions. The application of this laser-jet technique in the study of the photochemistry of radicals, biradicals, photoenols and the higher excited states of carbonyl and polycyclic aromatic compounds is described.