A laser-induced photodissociation study of CH3I+ and CD3I+ at high resolution

Abstract

Photodissociation of the molecular ions CH₃I⁺ and CD₃I⁺ has been studied at a resolution of better than 0.3 cm⁻¹ (37 μeV) using a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer and flashlamp pumped tunable dye laser. Calibration of the energy scale is achieved by recording the absorption spectrum of iodine vapor simultaneously with the photodissociation spectra. Several spectra are presented, showing partially resolved rotational structure. To assist with a preliminary analysis, deconvolution is used to improve the effective resolution of the data.