A Photodissociation dynamics study utilizing spatial orientation control of asymmetric top molecules

Abstract

Background The hexapole state selection had been developed mainly as a measure of rotational state selection and orientation control of symmetric top molecules. Objective This review aims to reorganize the results that the state selection technique was applied to study the photodissociation dynamics of an asymmetric top molecule 2‐bromobutane. Methods 2‐Bromobutane molecules have been state‐selected and spatially oriented using a hexapole state selector. The oriented molecules were then photolyzed to emit Br (2P1/2) photofragments. The photofragments were observed by using the slice ion imaging technique. Results The photofragment scattering distribution was experimentally observed to present a characteristic top‐bottom asymmetry, which allows us to extract geometric information of molecular vector properties related to the photodissociation dynamics. Besides, a theoretical study suggested a possibility of chiral discrimination by the scattering angular distributions. Conclusion This review introduces the overview of the theoretical formulation of the angular distributions and representative experimental results using the orientational control technique as an effective tool for studies of photodissociation dynamics.