Observation of different reactivities of para and ortho-water towards trapped diazenylium ions

Ardita Kilaj, Hong Gao, Daniel Rösch, Uxia Rivero, Jochen Küpper and Stefan Willitsch ()
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Ardita Kilaj: University of Basel
Hong Gao: University of Basel
Daniel Rösch: University of Basel
Uxia Rivero: University of Basel
Jochen Küpper: Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron DESY
Stefan Willitsch: University of Basel

Nature Communications, 2018, vol. 9, issue 1, 1-7

Abstract: Abstract Water is one of the most fundamental molecules in chemistry, biology and astrophysics. It exists as two distinct nuclear-spin isomers, para- and ortho-water, which do not interconvert in isolated molecules. The experimental challenges in preparing pure samples of the two isomers have thus far precluded a characterization of their individual chemical behavior. Capitalizing on recent advances in the electrostatic deflection of polar molecules, we separate the ground states of para- and ortho-water in a molecular beam to show that the two isomers exhibit different reactivities in a prototypical reaction with trapped diazenylium ions. Based on ab initio calculations and a modelling of the reaction kinetics using rotationally adiabatic capture theory, we rationalize this finding in terms of different rotational averaging of ion-dipole interactions during the reaction.

Date: 2018
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-018-04483-3

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