The photoactivity of RCo(CO)
4 (R = H, CH
3) complexes has been investigated
and compared by means ofstate correlation diagrams connecting the low-lying singlet
1E (d
Co
![](/images/gifchars/sigma.gif)
*
Co-R and d
Co
![](/images/gifchars/pi.gif)
*
CO)
and 1A
1 (d
Co
![](/images/gifchars/pi.gif)
*
CO) electronic states accessible through UV irradiation,
and the low-lying triplet states (
3E
and 3A
1), tothe corresponding states of the primary products R + Co(CO)
4 and CO
ax + RCo(CO)
3. The electronic absorptionspectra have been calculated by time-dependent wave packet propagations on two-dimensional potential energysurfaces describing both channels of dissociation, namely the homolysis of the R-Co
and the CO
ax-Cobonds. It is shown that the absorption spectrum of HCo(CO)
4 is characterized by two peaks; the most intensepeaks for each set are located respectively at 42 659
and 45 001 cm
-1. The CH
3Co(CO)
4 absorption spectrumalso gives two sets of signals with maximum intensities found at 42 581
and 51 515 cm
-1 These b
ands forboth molecules are assigned to the two metal-to-lig
and-charge-transfer (MLCT; d
Co
![](/images/gifchars/pi.gif)
*
CO) states. Threephotoactive states have been determined in both molecules, namely the singlet metal-to-
![](/images/gifchars/sigma.gif)
-bond-charge-transfer(MSBCT) states (a
1E
and b
1E), simultaneously dissociative for both the homolysis of CO
and the R-Cobond,
and the
3A
1 (
Co-R
![](/images/gifchars/sigma.gif)
*
Co-R), dissociative along the R-Co bond.