Effect of Microhydration on the Temporary Anion States of Pyrene

Lietard, Aude; Verlet, Jan R.R.

Abstract

The influence of incremental hydration (≤4) on the electronic resonances of the pyrene anion is studied using two-dimensional photoelectron spectroscopy. The photoexcitation energies of the resonances do not change; therefore, from the anion’s perspective, the resonances remain the same, but from the neutral’s perspective of the electron–molecule reaction, the resonances decrease in energy by the binding energy of the water molecules. The autodetachment of the resonances shows that hydration has very little effect, showing that even the dynamics of most of the resonances are not impacted by hydration. Two specific resonances do show changes that are explained by the closing of specific autodetachment channels. The lowest-energy resonance leads to efficient electron capture as observed through thermionic emission and evaporation of water molecules (dissociative electron attachment). The implications of low-energy electron capture in dense molecular interstellar clouds are discussed.

Citation

Lietard, A., & Verlet, J. R. (2022). Effect of Microhydration on the Temporary Anion States of Pyrene. Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters, 13(16), 3529-3533. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jpclett.2c00523

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Mar 28, 2022
• Online Publication Date: Apr 14, 2022
• Publication Date: Apr 28, 2022
• Deposit Date: Jul 5, 2022
• Publicly Available Date: Jul 5, 2022
• Journal: The Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters
• Electronic ISSN: 1948-7185
• Publisher: American Chemical Society
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 13
• Issue: 16
• Pages: 3529-3533
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jpclett.2c00523
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1202040