Site-specific hydrogen-atom elimination in photoexcited ethyl radical
9 pags., 4 figs., 1 tab. -- Open Access funded by Creative Commons Atribution Licence 4.0 ; The photochemistry of the ethyl radical following excitation to the 3p Rydberg state is investigated in a joint experimental and theoretical study. Velocity map images for hydrogen atoms detected from photoexcited isotopologues CH3CH2, CH3CD2 and CD3CH2 at 201 nm, are discussed along with high-level ab initio electronic structure calculations of potential energy curves and non-adiabatic coupling matrix elements (NACME). A novel mechanism governed by a conical intersection allowing prompt site-specific hydrogen-atom elimination is presented and discussed. For this mechanism to occur, an initial rovibrational excitation is allocated to the radical permitting to access this reaction pathway and thus to control the ethyl photochemistry. While hydrogen-atom elimination from cold ethyl radicals occurs through internal conversion into lower electronic states followed by slow statistical dissociation, prompt site-specific Ca elimination into CH3CH + H, occurring through a fast non-adiabatic crossing to a valence bound state followed by dissociation through a conical intersection, is accessed by means of an initial ro-vibrational energy content into the radical. The role of a particularly effective vibrational promoting mode in this prompt photochemical reaction pathway is discussed. ; D. V. C. and S. M. P. contributed equally to the paper. D. V. C. thanks a contract from Spanish MINECO under the FPI predoctoral program. S. M. P. acknowledges nancial support from a postdoctoral contract of the Regional Government of Madrid (Spain) (Grant PEJD-2016/IND-3217). A. B. acknowledges the financial support of the Tunisian Ministry of Higher Education, Scientific Research, and Technology, of the Short Term Scientific Mission (STSM) program of the COST Action CM1401, and of LSAMA at the Universite de Tunis El Manar, that made possible research visits to the Instituto de Fısica Fundamental (CSIC, Spain). This work has been nanced by the Spanish MINECO (Grants No. CTQ2015-65033-P, FIS2016- 76418-P and FIS-2016-77889-R) and EU COST Action CM1401. This research has been carried out within the Unidad Asociada Quımica Fısica Molecular between the Departamento de Quiımica Fisica of Universidad Complutense de Madrid and CSIC. The facilities provided by the Centro de Laseres Ultrarrapidos at Universidad Complutense de Madrid are gratefully acknowledged. The Centro de Supercomputacion de Galicia (CESGA, Spain) and CTI (CSIC) are acknowledged for the use of their resources