The role of water molecules in the dissociation of an electron-molecule contact pair

Connor J. Clarke, E. Michi Burrow and Jan R. R. Verlet ()
Additional contact information
Connor J. Clarke: Durham University
E. Michi Burrow: Durham University
Jan R. R. Verlet: Durham University

Nature Communications, 2025, vol. 16, issue 1, 1-8

Abstract: Abstract The hydrated electron, e–(aq), is a potent reducing agent and a prototypical quantum solute. Reactions of e–(aq) often involve a contact pair comprised of a molecule and electron that are hydrated within a single sphere. However, a molecular-level understanding of the solvent-driven coordinate that links the contact pair to the free dissociated e–(aq) remains elusive. Here, we study this coordinate by kinetically trapping representative metastable intermediates as gas-phase clusters and probing them using photoelectron spectroscopy. We apply this methodology to uracil-water anion clusters, where key intermediates are identified with supporting quantum chemical calculations. Just a single water molecule drives the parent molecule and non-valence electron apart, thereby inhibiting geminate recombination to form the more stable valence-bound uracil anion. The electron-water binding is akin to bare water cluster anions, highlighting the link to larger clusters and e–(aq). Our results provide a molecular-level view of quantum solute hydration and, more broadly, of how water-driven electron-transfer reactions proceed.

Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-57403-7 Abstract (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:nat:natcom:v:16:y:2025:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-025-57403-7

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
https://www.nature.com/ncomms/

DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-57403-7

Access Statistics for this article

Nature Communications is currently edited by Nathalie Le Bot, Enda Bergin and Fiona Gillespie

More articles in Nature Communications from Nature
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().