Photoabsorption and photofragmentation studies of acetyloxy iodide anion CH3CO2I−

Photoabsorption cross sections of newly produced gas-phase anion of acetyloxy iodide, CH3CO2I−, are obtained by photofragmentation spectroscopy in the spectral range 2.48–3.60 eV. The photoabsorption spectrum is dominated by two broad bands located well below the vertical detachment energy. Photoproducts are found to be CH3CO2− and I−, for which branching fractions are determined as a function of excitation energy. The corresponding excited states and the type of transitions involved are discussed on the basis of ab initio MO calculations.