Electronic absorption spectra of size-selected hydrated electron clusters: (H2O)n−, n=6–50

Abstract

We report photodestruction spectra for the $({\mathrm{H}}_{\mathrm{2}}{\mathrm{O)}}_n^{-}$ clusters (n=6, 11, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, and 50) in the range 0.7–1.6 eV. The spectra are observed to strongly redshift and narrow with decreasing cluster size, with a concomitant increase in peak intensity. The maxima occur well below the vertical detachment energies for n>20 and almost exclusively result from excitation of a bound–bound transition.