Photodissociation of Nitrosobenzene (C6H5NO) at 266 nm

The ultraviolet photodissociation of nitrosobenzene at 266 nm has been performed on a universal crossed molecular beams machine with a TOFMS detector. The time-of-flight spectra of the NO and C 6 H 5 photofragments have been measured. The TOF spectra evidence only one component. The measured photofragment translational energy distribution P ( E t ) reveals that about 29% of the available energy is partitioned into translational energy. The anisotropy parameter β at this wavelength is −0.64. From P ( E t ) and β, we deduce that during the photodissociation of C 6 H 5 NO, a perpendicular transition dominates over a parallel transition. Ab initio calculations were also performed to interpret the mechanism of the photodissociation.