PHOTOCHEMISTRY OF FORMIC-ACID MONOMER AT 222 NM

The yields of CO2 and CO formed from the gas-phase photolysis at 222 nm of very low pressures of formic acid where the monomer predominates have been determined using FTIR spectroscopy. The observed ratio of CO2/CO approaches unity as the formic acid pressure approaches zero. Previous studies have shown that the quantum yield for HCOOH + hv --> OH + HCO (or H + CO) is 0.70 at 298 K. The present experimental results indicate that the ratio of the quantum yields of the possible molecular photolysis channels forming H-2 + CO2 (phi(1b)) and H2O + CO (phi(1c)) is ca. 1. Including this result in an analysis of previously reported quantum yields of CO and CO2 determined at higher pressures of formic acid, where both monomer and dimer contribute significantly to the products, indicates that phi(1b) = phi(1c) = 0. (C) 1994 John Wiley and Sons, Inc.