The mechanism of the infrared laser induced multiphoton decomposition of ethyl alcohol

The infrared laser induced multiphoton decomposition of ethyl alcohol has been studied in experiments with iodine as a radical scavenger and the deuterium substituted form CH 3 CD 2 OH of the alcohol. These experiments show that the principal product, C 2 H 4 , arises from a concerted molecular elimination, as do most of the CH 4 and CH 3 CHO. The C 2 H 6 product results from recombination of the nascent methyl radicals formed in the minor bond breaking channel. Keywords: ethyl alcohol, multiphoton decomposition.