DISSOCIATIVE IONIZATION OF LIQUID WATER INDUCED BY VIBRATIONAL OVERTONE EXCITATION

Photochemistry of vibrationally activated ground electronic state liquid water to produce H/sup +/ and OH/sup -/ ions has been initiated by pulsed, single-photon excitation of overtone and combination transitions. Transient conductivity measurements were used to determine quantum yields as a function of photon energy, isotopic composition, and temperature. The equilibrium relaxation rate following perturbation by the vibrationally activated reaction was also measured as a function of temperature reaction and isotopic composition. In H/sub 2/O, the quantum yield at 283 +- 1 K varies from 2 x 10/sup -9/ to 4 x 10/sup -5/ for wave numbers between 7605 and 18140 cm/sup -1/. In D/sub 2/O, the dependence of quantum yield on wavelength has the same qualitative shape as for H/sub 2/O, but is shifted to lower quantum yields. The position of a minimum in the quantum yield versus hydrogen mole fraction curve is consistent with a lower quantum yield for excitation of HOD in D/sub 2/O than for excitation of D/sub 2/O. The ionic recombination distance of 5.8 +- 0.5 A is constant within experimental error with temperature in H/sub 2/O and with isotopic composition at 25 +- 1/sup 0/C