Photofragmentation of CF3I in the A band

CF₃I is photodissociated in a molecular beam with 248 nm laser lighl. Fragmentation takes place into CF₃ and I(²P_3/2) or I(²P_1/2). The quantum yield for excited I (I* = I(²P_1/2)) formation is determined to be 0.92. The CF₃ fragments are found to be considerably vibrationally excited. Of the available energy in the CF₃ + I* channel 39% (0.69 eV) appears on the average as vibrational energy in the CF₃ radical. The angular distributions in both channels show predominantly parallel character. It can be concluded that at this wavelength 97% of the total absorption is due to the ³Q₀ ← ¹A₁ transition and only 3% to the ¹Q ← ¹A₁ transition. Most of the signal in the CF₃ + I channel originates from an effective crossing between the ³Q₀ and ¹Q states. A coupled channel calculation is performed to obtain a better insight into the dissociation dynamics of the CF₃I molecule. The results indicate that the CF₃ fragments from dissociation of CF₃I at 248 nm may be expected to be vibrationally excited. However, the experimental distribution has a higher average energy and is much broader. An explanation for this phenomenon is suggested.