Reactivity of Hydrated Electron in Finite Size System: Sodium Pickup on Mixed N2O-Water Nanoparticles.

We investigate the reactivity of hydrated electron generated by alkali metal deposition on small water particles with nitrous oxide dopant by means of mass spectrometry and ab initio molecular dynamics simulations. The mixed nitrous oxide/water clusters were generated in a molecular beam and doped with Na atoms in a pickup experiment, and investigated by mass spectrometry using two different ionization schemes: an electron ionization (EI), and UV photoionization after the Na doping (NaPI). The NaPI is a soft-ionization nondestructive method, especially for water clusters provided that a hydrated electron es– is formed in the cluster. The missing signal for the doped clusters indicates that the hydrated electron is not present in the N2O containing clusters. The simulations reveal that the hydrated electron is formed, but it immediately reacts with N2O, forming first N2O– radical anion, later O–, and finally an OH• and OH– pair.