Observation of the solvent shell reorganization around photoexcited atomic solutes by picosecond X-ray absorption spectroscopy
We report on the observation of the solvation shell rearrangement after abstraction of the electron from aqueous I - in a laser pump/X-ray probe experiment by recording the X-ray absorption L 1 - and L 3 -edge spectra, 50 ps after laser excitation. The L 1 -edge spectra clearly identify the I 0 neutral species after excitation and suggest a substantial amount of back-transfer of charge from the s