Vibrational spectroscopy of a transient species through time-resolved Fourier transform infrared emission spectroscopy: The vinyl radical

An approach for detecting the vibrational spectrum of transient species is demonstrated on the vinyl radical. Photodissociation of carefully chosen precursors at selected photolysis wavelengths produce highly vibrationally excited radicals. Infrared (IR) emission from these radicals is then measured by time-resolved Fourier transform spectroscopy with nanosecond time resolution. All nine vibrational bands of the vinyl radical, generated from four different precursors, are obtained and reported here for the first time. (C) 2000 American Institute of Physics. [S0021- 9606(00)02221-2].