Studies of bimolecular reaction dynamics using pulsed high-intensity vacuum-ultraviolet lasers for photoionization detection.

This article describes recent progress on the development and application of pulsed high-intensity (~0.1 mJ per pulse) vacuum-ultraviolet (VUV) radiation produced by commercial tabletop lasers for studies of gas phase chemical reaction dynamics involving polyatomic free radicals. Our approach employs near-triply resonant four-wave mixing of unfocussed nanosecond dye lasers in an atomic gas as an alternative to the use of synchrotron light sources for sensitive universal soft photoionization detection of reaction products using a rotatable source crossed molecular beams apparatus with fixed detector. We illustrate this approach in studies of the reactions of phenyl radicals with molecular oxygen and with propene. Future prospects for the use of tabletop laser-based VUV sources for studies of chemical reaction dynamics are discussed.