Journal article
Observation of the fastest chemical processes in the radiolysis of water
Elementary processes associated with ionization of liquid water provide a framework for understanding radiation-matter interactions in chemistry and biology. Although numerous studies have been conducted on the dynamics of the hydrated electron, its partner arising from ionization of liquid water, H2O+, remains elusive.
We used tunable femtosecond soft x-ray pulses from an x-ray free electron laser to reveal the dynamics of the valence hole created by strong-field ionization and to track the primary proton transfer reaction giving rise to the formation of OH. The isolated resonance associated with the valence hole (H2O+/OH) enabled straightforward detection.
Molecular dynamics simulations revealed that the x-ray spectra are sensitive to structural dynamics at the ionization site. We found signatures of hydrated-electron dynamics in the x-ray spectrum.
Language: | English |
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Publisher: | American Association for the Advancement of Science |
Year: | 2020 |
Pages: | 179-182 |
ISSN: | 10959203 and 00368075 |
Types: | Journal article |
DOI: | 10.1126/science.aaz4740 |
ORCIDs: | 0000-0001-9729-9632 , 0000-0001-8672-4138 , 0000-0002-9458-1517 , 0000-0001-9545-3579 , 0000-0002-7745-7629 , 0000-0002-2492-4676 , 0000-0001-7834-0329 , 0000-0003-2961-1246 , 0000-0001-9696-8830 , 0000-0003-3978-6613 , 0000-0002-8108-4482 , 0000-0001-9995-7926 , 0000-0003-1417-4151 , 0000-0002-2166-0636 , 0000-0002-3447-6678 , 0000-0001-6788-5016 , 0000-0002-1601-1287 , 0000-0001-8289-0497 , 0000-0002-9854-9717 , 0000-0002-1522-7035 , 0000-0003-1467-8114 , 0000-0002-1442-9815 and 0000-0002-2251-039X |