Femtosecond photodissociation dynamics of Fe(CO)5 in the gas phase

The photodissociation dynamics of Fe(CO)5 in the gas phase has been investigated by using femtosecond laser pulses at 400 and 800 run. The parent molecule and all the fragment ions have been observed in a time-of-flight (TOF) spectrometer in real time. The photodissociation of Fe(CO)5 with the loss of four CO-ligands leads to Fe(CO) and takes place in about 100 fs. The ionization transients of the Fe(CO)2–4 fragments are the fingerprints of the evolution of the transition state in the dissociation reaction. The subsequent fragmentation of Fe(CO) into Fe and CO occurs on a longer time scale of 230 fs.