Photodissociation Dynamics of C2H4BrCl: Nonadiabatic Dynamics with Intrinsic Cs Symmetry

The photodissociation dynamics of 1,2-bromochloroethane ($C_2H_4BrCl$) was investigated near 234 nm. A two-dimensional photofragment ion-imaging technique coupled with a [2+1] resonance-enhanced multiphoton ionization scheme was utilized to obtain speed and angular distributions of the nascent Br($^2P_{3/2}$) and Br${\ast}($^2P_{1/2}$) atoms. The total translational energy distributions for the Br and Br${\ast}$ channels were well characterized by Gaussian functions with average translational energies of 100 and 84 kJ/mol, respectively. The recoil anisotropies for the Br and Br${\ast}$ channels were measured to be ${\beta}$ = 0.49 ${\pm}$ 0.05 for Br and 1.55 ${\pm}$ 0.05 for Br${\ast}$. The relative quantum yield for Br${\ast}$ was found to be ${\Phi}_{Br{\ast}}$ = 0.33 ${\pm}$ 0.03. The probability of nonadiabatic transition between A' states was estimated to be 0.46. The relevant nonadiabatic dynamics is discussed in terms of interaction between potential energy surfaces in Cs symmetry.