The 16th Femtochemistry Conference (FEMTO16)

Session

Session 3 - Solvation and reaction dynamics I

3

Jun 23, 2025, 2:00 PM

Savoia Hotel, Trieste, Italy

270. Majed Chergui (Chair)

6/23/25, 2:00 PM

30. Caught in the act: Optical pump THz probe allows real-time observation of the solvent response subsequent to photoexcitation

Martina Havenith (Department of Physical Chemistry II, Ruhr University Bochum, Germany)

6/23/25, 2:10 PM

Invited talk

We have set up a novel Optical Pump Terahertz Probe (OPTP) Spectrometer, which enables monitoring of the solvent response and the propagation of vibrational energy upon photoexcitation. We have reached a sensitivity that allows us to follow with ps time resolution the steps from photoexcitation to the formation of intermediates and the subsequent energy transfer into the bulk solvent (1)....

8. Electronic Dynamics of Aqueous Nucleobases Studied by Ultrafast EUV Photoemission and IR Absorption Spectroscopy

Toshinori Suzuki (Kyoto University)

6/23/25, 2:40 PM

Contributed talk

Ultrafast electronic relaxation of nucleobases from the 1ππ* state to the ground electronic state is crucial for the photostability of DNA and RNA. However, it has been suggested that electronic relaxation of pyrimidine nucleobases, nucleosides, and nucleotides in an aqueous environment generates an electronically-excited intermediate state with a lifetime of tens to hundreds of picoseconds...

215. Distinguishing cavity and non-cavity solvation structures of the hydrated electron

Benjamin Fingerhut (Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München)

6/23/25, 3:00 PM

Contributed talk

Solvated electrons in aqueous solution are a prototypical low dimensional quantum system in interaction with a fluctuating many-body environment. Despite substantial theoretical and experimental effort, conflicting views prevail regarding the hydration structure of electrons in water, where cavity and non-cavity solvation structures have been suggested. We present first principles molecular...

184. Ultrafast electron delocalization in aqueous L-cysteine

Dr Nicolas Velasquez (Fritz-Haber-Institut der Max-Planck-Gesellschaft)

6/23/25, 3:20 PM

Contributed talk

Charge transfer (CT) processes play a fundamental role in chemistry and biomolecular interactions, particularly in aqueous environments where biological reactions occur. In this study, we utilize hard X-ray spectroscopy, specifically core-hole clock spectroscopy (CHCS), to probe ultrafast CT dynamics in L-cysteine solutions at different pH levels. The experimental setup involves...