Identifying the initial products of the interaction of high-energy radiation with liquidwater is essential for understanding the yield and patterns of damage in aqueous condensed matter, including biological systems. Up until now several fast reactions induced by energetic particles in water could not be observed on their characteristic timescales, and hence some of the reaction intermediates involved, particularly those requiring nuclear motion, have not been considered in describing radiation chemistry.Here, through a combined experimental and theoretical study, we elucidate the ultrafast proton dynamics in the first few femtoseconds after X-ray core-level ionization of liquid water. We show through isotope analysis of the Auger-spectra that proton-transfer dynamics occurs on the same timescale as electron autoionization. Proton transfer leads to formation of a Zundel-type intermediate [HO*··H··OH 2 ] + , which further ionizes, forming a so-far unnoticed type of di-cationic, charge-separated species with high internal energy. We call the process proton-transfer mediated charge separation.The primary processes in water initiated by X-radiation are poorly understood despite their paramount importance in different fields. Understanding the energy and charge redistribution in water upon X-ray photon absorption is vital for a design of more efficient radio-oncology schemes, 1-2 for disentangling the physical basis of genotoxic effects on living tissues, [3][4][5] for minimizing the damage of biological samples during X-ray diffraction 2 experiments, 6 as well as for controlling the performance of nuclear reactors under operating conditions. 7 Current understanding of electron-initiated processes in aqueous systems, following energy deposition, and the subsequent radical chemistry have been recently reviewed. 8 An explicit consideration of radicals and molecular species formed via multiple ionization processes of water, involving for instance atomic oxygen and hydrogen peroxide, can be found in the radiolysis literature, e.g. in refs. 7,9 However, the knowledge of the ultrafast processes and mechanisms in water radiolysis remains to large extent unexplored.In the present work we focus on the processes following O1s core-level ionization of water. The highly excited species formed by the core ionization relaxes primarily via Augerelectron decay. As shown in Figure 1b, Auger decay of a water molecule involves refilling the water core-hole by one of the valence electrons, and the simultaneous emission of another valence electron, the Auger electron, from the same water molecule. The resulting highly reactive doubly ionized H 2 O 2+ (aq) molecule, with both vacancies (holes) located at the same site (denoted here as 2h state), then undergoes ultrafast Coulomb explosion, forming dominantly O + 2H + . [10][11] In recent years a set of novel non-local autoionization processes has been identified to play an important role in weakly bonded atomic and molecular systems. [12][13][14] One such relaxation process is Intermolecu...

The valence photoelectron spectra of water clusters are studied experimentally and by ab initio calculations. The size dependence of the vertical ionization energy of the outermost orbitals is explicitly shown. A shift toward lower values is observed. For small cluster sizes, it can be rationalized as an effect of charge delocalization as the system is becoming more extended. Ionization energies of larger clusters decrease linearly with inverse cluster radius and asymptotically approach the value of liquid water. In the calculations, we apply a reflection principle approach based on sampling a quantum mechanical distribution of different initial-state geometries to clusters. An excellent agreement of peak shapes calculated thus with measured ones is shown. Using additional polarization fields, the extension of this approach to the photoionization of liquid water is demonstrated. Upon deuteration of the water clusters, we experimentally and theoretically find slightly larger absolute values of the vertical ionization energies. We suggest that the measurement of electron ionization energies can be used as an alternative means to characterize water cluster sizes, which can complement the use of scaling laws.

Using cluster studies to approach the electronic structure of bulk water: Reassessing the vacuum level, conduction band edge, and band gap of water

We study dynamical processes following water dimer ionization. The nonadiabatic dynamical simulations of the water dimer radical cation are performed using a surface hopping technique and a Complete Active Space-Self Consistent Field (CASSCF) method for the description of electronic structure. The main goal of this study is to find out whether a state-dependent reactivity is observed for the water dimer radical cation. We provide a detailed mapping of the potential energy surfaces (PESs) in the relevant coordinates for different electronic states. Dynamical patterns are discussed on the basis of static PES cuts and available experimental data. As a product of the reaction, we observed either proton transferred structure (H3O(+)···OH˙) or various dissociated structures (H3O(+) + OH˙, H2O˙(+) + H2O, H˙ + OH˙ + H2O˙(+)). The relative yields are controlled by the populated electronic state of the radical cation. The proton transfer upon the HOMO electron ionization is an ultrafast process, taking less than 100 fs, in cases of higher energy ionization the dynamical processes occur on longer timescales (200-300 fs). We also discuss the implications of our simulations for the efficiency of the recently identified intermolecular coulomb decay (ICD) process in the water dimer.

Pairing of halide anions with ammonium, as well as with trialkylated and tetraalkylated ammonium cations in water, is investigated by molecular dynamics simulations, which are verified by ab initio calculations and experimental excess chemical potentials. We find that ammonium prefers to pair with smaller halides over the larger ones, while the order is reversed for tetraalkylated ammonium cations. Trialkylated ammonium cations exhibit an intermediate behavior, with the acidic hydrogen preferring smaller anions and alkyl chains interacting attractively with larger halides. This Hofmeister reversal of anionic ordering upon tetraalkylation of the ammonium cation is robustly predicted by both nonpolarizable and polarizable force fields and supported by experimental evidence.