Photochemistry in Van Der Waals Complexes: (Hg—H₂)^* → HgH + H

Abstract

The Hg—H₂ collision complex in the reaction Hg ³P₁ + H₂ has been investigated by a new method involving the Van der Waals complex of the reactants. This method yields the first observation of a vibrational transition in a reactive collision complex. Furthermore the fixed geometry of the Van der Waals complex corresponding to the Hg ³P₁ state enables the separation of two different reaction paths depending on the electronic configuration of the complex, namely Σ3 and Π3.