Fragmentation of methyl chloride photoexcited near Cl (2p) by mass spectrometry

The evolution of the fragmentation pathways of the methylchloride around the Cl 2p edge has been studied by use of charge separation mass spectrometry. Some fragmentation patterns are discussed in the frame of rapid fragmentation of the neutral and dissociation pathways characteristic of singly or multiply charged species. The correlation of the evolution of the charge separation spectra with the initial excitation process is used to give a definitive attribution to the pre-edge features present in the absorption spectrum.