What happens to a diazo compound during photolysis?

During photolysis, diazo compounds undergo a cleavage reaction that results in the formation of a carbene and the release of a free molecule of nitrogen gas.1

Because carbenes are highly reactive, high-energy intermediates, this process is often conducted at very low temperatures within an unreactive solid medium—a technique known as matrix isolation—to prevent the carbene from undergoing further reactions and allow it to persist long enough for study.1