Abstract

The highly reactive o- and m-xylylenes and their methylated derivatives are biradicaloid species which exist as transient intermediates in chemical reactions. They result from the photodissociation of CH bonds on two different methyl groups of methylbenzenes. Many years ago, we have reported the first direct characterization, by electronic spectroscopy, of these fragments photolytically generated "in situ" from the corresponding methylbenzenes in organic glasses⁽¹⁾ and then in polycrystals⁽²⁾. Here we present the laser induced fluorescence and excitation spectra of o- and m-xylylenes and their methylated derivatives trapped in well defined lattice sites of Shpolskii matrices at 5-10 K.

© 1984 Optical Society of America