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The Hydrated Electron: A Seemingly Familiar Chemical and Biological Transient
Author(s) -
Siefermann Katrin R.,
Abel Bernd
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
angewandte chemie international edition
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 5.831
H-Index - 550
eISSN - 1521-3773
pISSN - 1433-7851
DOI - 10.1002/anie.201006521
Subject(s) - chemical physics , liquid water , solvated electron , electron , chemistry , milestone , nanotechnology , physics , materials science , radiolysis , thermodynamics , aqueous solution , quantum mechanics , history , archaeology
Since the discovery of the hydrated electron in bulk water in 1962, the species has been the subject of intense research and speculation. For many decades even the basic features of the simplest of all chemical and biological transients and reactants—such as its structure, binding motifs, lifetimes, and binding energies—remained elusive. Recently, another milestone in the research of the hydrated electron was the determination of its vertical binding energy (VBE). Also a long‐lived hydrated electron near the surface of liquid water has been discovered. The present Minireview discusses the implications and consequences of this and other new findings in addition to the emerging complex picture of a solvated electron in water.