Anion and electron solvation in alcohols

Pulse radiolytic techniques have been used to measure the solvation of anio ns and electrons in alcohols. The results have shown the importance of the microscopic liquid structure in the solvation process. The activation energ y for benzophenone solvation is equal to the hydrogen-bond energy for the l iquids, which shows that the solvent reorganization requires the breaking o f the hydrogen bonds between solvent molecules. For electron solvation, pri mary alcohols have a lower activation energy because the initial hydrogen-b onded structure of the liquid is amenable to solvation. The solvation of an electron in a secondary alcohol requires require hydrogen-bond breakage. ( C) 1999 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.