Rotational and vibrational energy distributions of HCl produced by three- and four-center eliminations of HCl from halogenated ethanes

Rotational and vibrational energy distributions of HCl from CF3CClFH and CClF2CH3 have been measured using a 2+1 resonantly enhanced multiphoton ionization (REMPI) technique. In the case of the three-center elimination from CF3CClFH, the HCl products are rotationally and vibrationally cold. On the other hand, hot HCl products are produced in the case of the four-center elimination from CClF2CH3. The energy partitioning in the HCl eliminations has been discussed on the basis of structural change along the intrinsic reaction coordinate (IRC) or transition state structures obtained by ab initio molecular orbital (MO) calculations.