Three-Body Photodissociation of Thionyl Chloride

The ultrafast photodissociation dynamics of thionyl chloride after excitation with a 235 nm pump pulse has been studied using a femtosecond time-resolved mass spectroscopy. The observed parent transient suggests that the excited states initiated by 235 nm are very shortlived, that is, approximately 166 fs. Not only a stepwise three-body dissociation pathway but also a concerted three-body dissociation pathway is observed.