Laser-initiated microchemistry: Dynamic probes of metallopolymer thin-film decomposition

Transient absorption has been used as a probe of the reaction kinetics in the laser-initiated thermal decomposition of Au metallopolymers. Feature sizes are considerably larger than the dimensions of the laser spot due to the propagation of a reaction front driven by the heat release from the highly exothermic reaction. Front velocities in the range of 30–50 cm/s are measured using spatially separated generating and probe lasers. These effects should be generalizable to any laser-driven thermal reaction in the condensed phase with sufficient heat release, and, as such, constitute a major limitation on feature size obtainable in these systems.