Photochemistry of acetylene

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Abstract
Photochemical and fluorescence studies of acetylene initiated by absorption of light in the vacuum ultraviolet have been described. The photochemical primary process consists of (1) the formation of C2 + H2, (2) the production of C2H + H, and (3) the formation of a metastable acetylene. The quantum yield of process (1) is about 0.1 and that of process (2) is 0.06 at 1849 Å and 0.3 at 1470 Å. The metastable acetylene either reacts with ground state acetylene to produce diacetylene or is deactivated by collisions with the walls, inert gases, or by fluorescence. A quasicontinuous emission is observed in the 4000 to 6000 Å region when acetylene is exposed to incident wavelengths below 1305 Å. This emission is ascribed to an electronically excited ethynyl radical. The rates of reaction C2H + H2 → C2H2 + H and C2H + RH → C2H2 + R (RH = CH4, C2H6, C3H8) have been measured. The photochemistry of acetylene in the Jovian and Titan atmospheres is briefly discussed.

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