Indirect photoionization of water and aqueous hydroxide studied by pump-repump-probe spectroscopy

Photolysis of liquid water produces free OH radicals, hydronium ions and electrons. Initially, free electrons in solution are trapped rapidly and the partially and fully solvated electrons have the potential for further reactions. It is suspected that they are involved in a number of still poorly understood dissociative electron attachment processes in radiation biology. The ionization mechanism of water is significant for the relative spatial distributions of the nascent species that ultimately govern their subsequent chemistry.