Femtosecond electron solvation kinetics in water

Recent experimental and theoretical studies of electron solvation in liquid water have led to a detailed kinetic picture of this process. The electron solvation dynamics can be viewed as an excited state relaxation process between different electronic energy levels of the solvated electron. Simulations have suggested the importance of direct relaxation from upper excited electronic states as well as from the lowest excited electronic state (the wet electron state) to the ground electronic state. Using this as a model to analyze the experimental data, it is found that the quantum yield of wet electron formation cannot be less than 0.5 and that the peak of the wet electron absorption spectrum shifts to the IR with a decrease of wet electron formation quantum yield, with limiting values for the peak of 1.1-1.5 eV.