The 193-nm excimer laser photofragmentation of alkane and alkene nitriles in argon matrices

Article abstract of DOI:10.1021/j100333a015

Excimer laser irradiation at 193 nm has been coupled with the matrix isolation technique for the study of fragmentation and rearrangement processes for acrylonitrile, crotononitrile, and 2-methyl-2-butenenitrile. For each of these systems, multiple fragmentation pathways were implicated, and the products for each system were characterized by infrared spectroscopy. For example, laser irradiation of acrylonitrile led to the formation of acetylene, hydrogen cyanide, and 2-propynenitrile. Irradiation was carried out both during the deposition process and after the matrix was rigidly frozen in place; differences were attributed to cage restrictions on recombination processes. Several simple alkyl nitriles were also subjected to laser irradiation, but for these systems no photoproducts were detected.