Electronic structure and chemical reaction of the hydrated electron

2014 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 24245004
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (A)
• Allocation Type: Single-year Grants
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Physical chemistry
• Research Institution: Kyoto University
• Principal Investigator: SUZUKI Toshinori 京都大学, 理学(系)研究科(研究院), 教授 (10192618)
• Project Period (FY): 2012-04-01 – 2015-03-31
• Keywords: 化学物理 / 原子・分子物理

Outline of Final Research Achievements

We developed ultrafast photoelectron spectroscopy to study chemical reactions in aqueous solutions. A liquid is discharged from a fused-silica capillary into a vacuum chamber and illuminated with the pump and probe femtosecond pulses. The pump pulse induces photochemical/photophysical dynamics and the probe pulse interrogates them by photoemission. We have studied the charge transfer to solvent reactions in water and found that photoemission from a hydrated electron is isotropic. Our analysis reveled that the solutes are hydrophobic and have enhanced concentration at the surface and they exhibit anisotropic photoemission; however, electron transfer occurs from these solutes to the bulk side of solution, so that the hydrated electrons are created with almost complete hydration shell. This makes photoemission from hydrated electrons isotropic owing to electron scattering with water molecules.

Free Research Field

物理化学