MATRIX-ISOLATION STUDY OF THE 193-NM EXCIMER-LASER PHOTOCHEMISTRY OF HEXAFLUOROBENZENE

193 nm excimer laser irradiation of Ar/C6F6 samples during deposition onto a cryogenic surface has led to the formation and isolation of a r ange of products, the dominant being hexafluoro-Dewar benzene. Additio nal absorptions likely due to the previously unreported hexafluorobenz valene were observed, along with extensive fragmentation and additiona l minor products. When either Cl-2 or CCl4 was doped into the Ar/C6F6 sample as an electron trap, a number of additional product bands were noted. A few of these were destroyed by subsequent Hg are irradiation, and at least one is tentatively assigned to the C6F6+ cation. A compa rison to previous studies of the photochemistry of C6F6 is made.