Wet electrons and how to dry them

We present the formation of hydrated electrons by laser vaporization, and i nvestigate in a Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance (FT-ICR) mass spe ctrometer their destruction by the 300 K black body infrared background rad iation. While clusters above n greater than or equal to 32 decay almost exc lusively by fragmentation and loss of ligands, the smaller species also det ach electrons, with the relative rates of the two processes exhibiting an i nteresting alternation. Below n=15 they almost exclusively detach electrons , and for n less than or equal to 12 the detachment rate is apparently so f ast that no clusters are observed in the ICR-experiment. From n=19 to n=24 a pronounced odd-even alternation between electron detachment and fragmenti on is observed, which is tentatively attributed to entropic rather than ene rgetic effects. (C) 2001 American Institute of Physics.