Competitive channels in the jet-cooled photodissociation of the CH2Cl radical

The photodissociation of CH2Cl is studied by the ion imaging technique. At 235–243 nm, Cl photofragments are produced via the simultaneous excitation of the perpendicular (12A1←12B1) and parallel (22B1←12B1) electronic transitions. The relative populations and translational energy distributions of Cl fragments generated via each transition are extracted. H-atom products, which are detected in a one-color experiment at 243.1 nm, exhibit an angular distribution characteristic of perpendicular transitions only. They may be produced via excitation to the valence 12A1 and/or Rydberg 22A1(3s) states.