Research on solute–solvent interactions
L-edge spectroscopy
Charge transfer to solvent identified using dark channel fluorescence-yield L-edge spectroscopy at LSU (Laboratory of Ultrafast Spectroscopy)
The group of Prof. Majed Chergui (LSU - Laboratory of Ultrafast Spectroscopy) used soft X-ray L-edge spectroscopy to demonstrate that the fluorescence-yield spectra of aqueous ionic species exhibit additional features compared with those of non-aqueous solvents. Some features dip below the fluorescence background of the solvent and this is rationalized by the competition between the fluorescence yields of the solute and solvent species, and between the solute radiative (fluorescence) and non-radiative channels; in particular, electron transfer to the water molecules. There method allowed to determine the nature, directionality and timescale of the electron transfer. Remarkably, they observed such features even for fully ligated metal atoms, which indicates a direct interaction with the water molecules.
Aziz E.F. et al., Nature Chemistry, doi:10.1038/nchem.768 (2010)