A two-color laser photolysis method for determining reaction rates of short-lived intermediates by product analysis: application to the o-quinodimethane problem

A time-delayed, two-color pulse laser photolysis technique was used for a kinetic study of short-lived transient species through product analysis, the determination of the rate constant of the cycloaddition of o-quinodimethane (1) and maleic anhydride (2) in room-temperature solutions. o-Quinodimethane (1) was generated from 1,2-bis(phenylseleno)methyl]benzene (3) by the irradiation of a pulse of a KrF excimer laser (248 nm) in the presence of excess 2, and a successive pulse of a XeCl excimer laser (308 nm) was irradiated to the reaction mixture after varied delay times from 0 to 0.1 s for the decomposition of the remaining 1 to quench the cycloaddition reaction. The rate constant of the cycloaddition of 1 and 2 was 2.1 x 10(5) M(-1) s(-1), which was obtained by the analysis of the delay-time dependence of the product yields.