ABSTRACT
This chapter reviews the research and development in the areas. It focuses on the applications of laser-induced chemical reactions of molecular species, not on the purely scientific aspects of laser photochemistry. The chapter explains a few references to photochemical processes in condensed phases. The literature contains many references to laser isotope separation. In an attempt to allow for comparisons of the different methods of isotope separation, the chapter uses the isotopic selectivity of the photochemical process as much as possible. Most of the photochemical applications fall into three categories: infrared multiple-photon dissociation (IRMPD), ultraviolet photolysis, and infrared-ultraviolet dissociation (IR-UV). The majority of the experiments, particularly the isotope separations, are with the technique of IRMPD. The UV method is just conventional ultraviolet photolysis. The IR-UV dissociation of water vapor has received some attention, but no one has reported a successful demonstration.
