TY  - EJOUR
AU  - Vinklarek, Ivo
AU  - Trippel, Sebastian
AU  - Belina, Michal
AU  - Blum, Luisa
AU  - Bromberger, Hubertus
AU  - Slavicek, Petr
AU  - Küpper, Jochen
TI  - Proton transfer and hydronium formation in ionized water
IS  - arXiv:2602.17505
M1  - PUBDB-2026-00564
M1  - arXiv:2602.17505
PY  - 2026
N1  - Main manuscript - 4 figures, 8 pages; Supplementary materials - 31 figures, 29 pages
AB  - Aqueous radiation chemistry emerges through ultrafast proton transfer and ion-radical formation   with unexplored energy-redistribution dynamics steering the subsequent reactions. We performed   time-resolved disruptive probing on pure water dimer, \text(H<sub>2</sub>\textO)<sub>2</sub>, to disentangle the post-ionization   reactions. Through kinetic-energy-resolved ion imaging, we unraveled the dynamics in the \text(H<sub>2</sub>\textO)<sub>2</sub><sup>+</sup>   ground state: at low-energy ( ∼ 0.05 eV) ultrafast proton transfer ( ∼ 19 fs) is   followed by \textH<sub>3</sub>\textO<sup>+</sup>+\textOH fragmentation ( ∼ 360 fs). At higher energies, proton   transfer becomes hindered ( ∼ 60 fs) while the subsequent fragmentation becomes faster   ( ∼ 210 fs), evolving into coupled dynamics ( > 0.15 eV,  ∼ 100 fs). Moreover, we   observed \text(H<sub>2</sub>\textO)<sub>2</sub><sup>+</sup> stabilization through a Zundel-like motif. This reveals how ion-radical formation   in ionized hydrogen-bonded networks shapes reactivity in aqueous dynamics.
LB  - PUB:(DE-HGF)25
UR  - https://bib-pubdb1.desy.de/record/645058
ER  -