Mechanisms for the Near-UV Photodissociation of CH$_3$I on D$_2$O/Cu(110)

Abstract

The system of CH$_3$I adsorbed on submonolayer, monolayer and multilayer thin films of D$_2$O on Cu(110) has been studied by measuring the time-of-flight (TOF) distributions of the desorbing CH$_3$ fragments after photodissociation using linearly polarized $\lambda$=248nm light. For multilayer D$_2$O films (1-120ML), the photodissociation is dominated by neutral photodissociation via the "A-band" absorption of CH$_3$I. The polarization and angle dependent variation in the observed TOF spectra of the CH$_3$ photofragments find that dissociation is largely via the $^3Q_0$ excited state, but that also a contribution via the $^1Q_1$ excitation can be identified. The photodissociation results also indicate that the CH$_3$I adsorbed on D$_2$O forms close-packed islands at submonolayer coverages, with a mixture of C-I bond axis orientations. For submonolayer quantities of D$_2$O we have observed a contribution to CH$_3$I photodissociation via dissociative electron attachment (DEA) by photoelectrons. The observed DEA is consistent with delocalized photoelectrons from the substrate causing the observed dissociation -- we do not find evidence for a DEA mechanism via the temporary solvation of photoelectrons in localized states of the D$_2$O ice.