Signature and efficiency of Intermolecular Coulombic Decay in water clusters, liquid water and ice

• Applicant: Privatdozent Dr. Uwe Hergenhahn
• Subject Area: Physical Chemistry of Molecules, Liquids and Interfaces, Biophysical Chemistry ; Optics, Quantum Optics and Physics of Atoms, Molecules and Plasmas
• Term: from 2012 to 2021
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 203306641

In this project we plan to investigate: 1. Fundamental properties of ICD after photoionization of rare gas clusters and 2. We will demonstrate ICD in solute systems of water and organic molecules. An important fundamental question we will address is the efficiency of ICD: Our experimental set-up is uniquely suitable to verify that other relaxation channels, such as fluorescence, cannot compete with ICD whenever this channel is open. In mixed rare gas clusters, we find an interesting nanolaboratory to explore in which way IC decays into different final states connect to structural features of the clusters. To conclude on an effectiveness of ICD and ETMD in a biochemical context, we would like to study these decays in microsolvation clusters, which can be seen as elementary building blocks of living tissue. Clusters consisting of H2O and amino acid or nucleobase molecules will be produced, and the occurrence of ICD will be demonstrated by electron-electron coincidence spectroscopy.

• DFG Programme: Research Units
• Subproject of: FOR 1789: Intermolecular and Interatomic Coulombic Decay
• Co-Investigator: Professor Dr. Bernd Abel