Vacuum Ultraviolet Photolysis of Fluoroethylenes. I. Vinyl Fluoride at 1470 Å

Abstract

The photolysis of vinyl fluoride at 1470 Å and pressures in the range 1–150 torr, yields in addition to C₂H₂ and C₂HF, 1,1‐C₂H₂F₂. The yield of 1,1‐C₂H₂F₂ with respect to that of C₂H₂, increases rapidly with decreasing pressure. It is proposed that F atoms are liberated as a result of the decomposition of certain excited C₂H₃F molecules. The F atoms in turn react with C₂H₃F to give a chemically activated difluoroethyl radical with a small excess energy with respect to a decomposition which yields almost exclusively 1,1‐C₂H₂F₂. The details of this preliminary proposal are discussed in relation to the measured relative yields of C₂H₂, C₂HF, and 1,1‐C₂H₂F₂.