Matrix Isolation Study of the 193 nm Excimer Laser Photochemistry of Hexafluorobenzene

Abstract

193 nm excimer laser irradiation of Ar/C₆F₆ samples during deposition onto a cryogenic surface has led to the formation and isolation of a range of products, the dominant being hexafluoro-Dewar benzene. Additional absorptions likely due to the previously unreported hexafluorobenzvalene were observed, along with extensive fragmentation and additional minor products. When either Cl₂ or CCl₄ was doped into the Ar/C₆F₆ sample as an electron trap, a number of additional product bands were noted. A few of these were destroyed by subsequent Hg arc irradiation, and at least one is tentatively assigned to the C₆F₆⁺ cation. A comparison to previous studies of the photochemistry of C₆F₆ is made.