Laser-Induced Dissociation of an Energetic Polymer:  A Spectroscopic Study of the Gaseous Products

Previous studies of GAP (glycidyl azido polymer) laser-induced decomposition (Propellants, Explosives, Pyrotechnics 1996, 21, 258), revealed that the shock wave produced from a diluted polymer is more energetic than from the neat polymer. In this paper, direct measurement of the energy disposal into molecular products is reported using spectroscopic methods. Chemiluminescence probes electronically excited species, and laser-induced fluorescence, ground-state radicals. It is found that the initial velocity and internal energy content of small diatomic molecules is larger in some diluted polymers than in the neat one. This finding is in line with a simple model based on the assumption of a self-sustained reaction following initial laser excitation.