ULTRAFAST EVENTS IN THE ELECTRON PHOTODETACHMENT FROM THE HEXACYANOFERRATE(II) COMPLEX IN SOLUTION

Following excitation of the hexacyanoferrate(II) complex in water with a 40 fs laser pulse at 267 nm, the absorption of the hydrated electro n rises with a global time constant of 510 fs, whereas the characteris tic absorption of the hexacyanoferrate(III) appears almost instantaneo usly. A transient absorption band around 490 nm is tentatively assigne d to the charge-transfer-to-solvent (CTTS) state of the hexacyanoferra te(II). Its ultra-rapid decay (<< 60 fs) is due to the electronic repu lsion between the electron and its parent core. (C) 1998 Elsevier Scie nce B.V. All rights reserved.