Photoelectronic process, timescale

Long et al. (1983) confirmed the occurrence of process (I) in photolyses at low pressures of benzaldehyde using either 245.0 or 258.9 nm radiation. Benzene was identified as a product using laser ionization mass and photoelectron spectrometers. They concluded that benzaldehyde excited at these short wavelengths decomposes into and CO on a nanosecond timescale. From the Berger et al. results, it appears that process (1) can be neglected for photolyses within the troposphere. 

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