Lowest energy electronic transition in aqueous Cl(-) salts: Cl(-) → (H2O)6 charge transfer transition.

We use UV resonance Raman spectroscopy to probe the lowest energy allowed electronic transitions of aqueous solutions containing Cl(-) salts. We show that the waters hydrating the Cl(-) are involved in charge transfer transitions that transfer electron density from Cl(-) to the water molecules. These charge transfer transitions cause significant change in the H-O-H bond angle in the excited state, which results in a strong enhancement of the preresonance Raman intensity of the water bending modes. Our work gives the first insight into the lowest allowed electronic transition of hydrated Cl(-).