A holographic technique for investigating photochemical reactions

A new experimental technique for following the progress of a photochemical reaction is described. The technique involves following the temporal growth in intensity of a hologram produced by the interference of two beams in a medium containing the species whose photochemistry is being investigated. The theory of the formation of a photochemical hologram is described and a simple expression obtained that relates the growth of the hologram to photochemical parameters of interest. The technique is used to study the photodissociation of dimethyl-i-tetrazine and hydrogen abstraction by camphorquinone in polyvinylcarbazole matrices. © 1980 American Institute of Physics.