Theoretical analysis of femtosecond excitation and fragmentation dynamics of Fe(CO)(5)

We present the application of a time-dependent model to Fe(CO)(5) dissociat ion after femtosecond excitation to understand transient signals obtained i n recent pump/probe experiments. The calculation of time-dependent energy d istributions allows us to interpret the decay behaviour of the various frag ments. The results indicate that at least two dissociation pathways have to be considered to explain the transient signals obtained for the different fragments. Furthermore, it is shown that, within each of the pathways discu ssed, concerted and sequential fragmentation compete. (C) 2000 Elsevier Sci ence B.V. All rights reserved.