IR Photolysis of Liquid Hexamethyldisiloxane by Pulse CO2Laser Radiation

The IR photolysis of liquid hexamethyldisiloxane (CH₃)₃Si]₂O by pulse CO₂laser radiation was studied. The experiments were performed both with and without a graphite powder as a sensitizer. The presence of the graphite sensitizer increases the efficiency of dissociation. To provide the highest penetration of the laser emission into a medium, the irradiation of samples were carried out with tuning far from the maximum of the Si–O bond absorption band (1055 cm^–1) using the 10P16 line (_las= 947.78 cm^–1). This tuning makes it possible to separate the process of IR multiphoton dissociation of the vapor over the liquid phase and to carry out the reaction in the liquid at a low (1 J/cm²) energy fluence of laser radiation. The IR spectra of irradiated liquid samples indicate the formation of linear and cyclic polystructures.