Anisotropic Photodissociation of Cadmium Dimethyl

Abstract

Cadmium dimethyl has been photolyzed at very low pressures with polarized light. The cadmium atoms are deposited perpendicular to the $\epsilon$ vector of the light. The methyl radicals also move perpendicularly to the $\epsilon$ vector. The interpretation of these results is that the transition movement is perpendicular to the axis of the molecule and the three (or two) fragments separate along the molecular axis. The cadmium atoms were detected by the apprearance of a black film and the methyl radicals were detected by the bluing of a white film of MoO₃.