Photodecomposition involves the breakdown of chemical compounds due to the absorption of light energy. The rate at which a compound decomposes may vary due to several different factors, including what is present in the chemical’s environment and the wavelength (i.e., color) of light used. We have measured the photodecomposition rate of the compound tetrachloroaurate when exposed to ultraviolet light in the presence of several common alcohols. The rate is found to be highly dependent upon both the identity and concentration of alcohol, revealing detailed information about the photodecomposition mechanism. A mathematical model of our proposed mechanism exhibits excellent agreement with experimental data.
