Ultraviolet photolysis of HOCl: REMPI measurement of the relative population of chlorine atom (2P) spin–orbit states

The nascent chlorine atom (2P) relative spin–orbit state population resulting from UV photolysis of HOCI has been measured by resonance-enhanced multiphoton ionization (REMPI) in single laser experiments. The ratio of (0.30 ± 0.07) for Cl*: Cl has been obtained, indicating a stronger preference for production of ground-state Cl(2P3/2) than expected from statistical weights. Also, the Cl+ arrival-time spectra show that most of the energy available in the photolysis is converted into kinetic energy of the photofragments.