Abstract

In this work photodissociation studies of glyoxal-H2 (D2) molecules have been conducted in order to analyze the effect of the mass in the vibrational predissociation of van der Waals complexes. The glyoxal-H2 (D2) molecules have been formed in a supersonic expansion and photodissociated by means of a tunable dye laser. The final state of the glyoxal fragments has been determined by the analysis of the fluorescence spectrum. A significant isotope effect on the branching ratios for predissociation has been found. An interpretation in terms of a distorted wave diabatic treatment is presented.