Lapointe François, Wolf Martin, Campen R Kramer, Tong Yujin
Fritz Haber Institute of the Max Planck Society, Faradayweg 4-6, 14195 Berlin, Germany.
Faculty of Physics, University of Duisburg-Essen, Lotharstrasse 1, 47057 Duisburg, Germany.
J Am Chem Soc. 2020 Oct 28;142(43):18619-18627. doi: 10.1021/jacs.0c08289. Epub 2020 Sep 29.
The hydrated electron has fundamental and practical significance in radiation and radical chemistry, catalysis, and radiobiology. While its bulk properties have been extensively studied, its behavior at solid/liquid interfaces is still unclear due to the lack of effective tools to characterize this short-lived species in between two condensed matter layers. In this study, we develop a novel optoelectronic technique for the characterization of the birth and structural evolution of solvated electrons at the metal/liquid interface with a femtosecond time resolution. Using this tool, we record for the first time the transient spectra (in a photon energy range from 0.31 to 1.85 eV) with a time resolution of 50 fs revealing several novel aspects of their properties at the interface. Especially the transient species show state-dependent optical transition behaviors from being isotropic in the hot state to perpendicular to the surface in the trapped and solvated states. The technique will enable a better understanding of hot electron driven reactions at electrochemical interfaces.
水合电子在辐射与自由基化学、催化以及放射生物学领域具有重要的基础意义和实际应用价值。尽管其整体性质已得到广泛研究,但由于缺乏有效的工具来表征处于两个凝聚相层之间的这种短寿命物种,其在固/液界面的行为仍不明确。在本研究中,我们开发了一种新颖的光电技术,用于以飞秒时间分辨率表征金属/液体界面处溶剂化电子的产生及结构演化。利用该工具,我们首次记录了瞬态光谱(光子能量范围为0.31至1.85电子伏特),时间分辨率为50飞秒,揭示了它们在界面处性质的几个新方面。特别是瞬态物种表现出与状态相关的光学跃迁行为,从热态的各向同性转变为捕获态和溶剂化态时垂直于表面。该技术将有助于更好地理解电化学界面处的热电子驱动反应。