Matrix isolation and computational study of isodifluorodibromomethane (F2CBr-Br): a route to Br2 formation in CF2Br2 photolysis.

The photolysis products of dibromodifluoromethane (CF(2)Br(2)) were characterized by matrix isolation infrared and UV/Visible spectroscopy, supported by ab initio calculations. Photolysis at wavelengths of 240 and 266 nm of CF(2)Br(2):Ar samples (approximately 1:5000) held at approximately 5 K yielded iso-CF(2)Br(2) (F(2)CBrBr), a weakly bound isomer of CF(2)Br(2), which is characterized here for the first time. The observed infrared and UV/Visible absorptions of iso-CF(2)Br(2) are in excellent agreement with computational predictions at the B3LYP/aug-cc-pVTZ level. Single point energy calculations at the CCSD(T)/aug-cc-pVDZ level on the B3LYP optimized geometries suggest that the isoform is a minimum on the CF(2)Br(2) potential energy surface, lying some 55 kcal/mol above the CF(2)Br(2) ground state. The energies of various stationary points on the CF(2)Br(2) potential energy surface were characterized computationally; taken with our experimental results, these show that iso-CF(2)Br(2) is an intermediate in the Br+CF(2)Br-->CF(2)+Br(2) reaction. The photochemistry of the isoform was also investigated; excitation into the intense 359 nm absorption band resulted in isomerization to CF(2)Br(2). Our results are discussed in view of the rich literature on the gas-phase photochemistry of CF(2)Br(2), particularly with respect to the existence of a roaming atom pathway leading to molecular products.