MBI Colloquium
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Max-Born-Institut für Nichtlineare Optik und Kurzzeitspektroskopie
Max-Born-Straße 2a,
12489 Berlin
Max Born Hall
Ultrafast radiation chemistry in aqueous environments
Prof. Dr. Robin Santra
Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron DESY & University of Hamburg
The impact of high-energy radiation on matter has important consequences for medical x-ray imaging; radiotherapy; air travel and spaceflight; and the operation of both fission- and fusion-based power plants. In this talk, I will present progress that has been made in the real-time observation of fundamental radiation-chemical reactions. I will discuss the nature of the electronic structure resulting from radiation-induced collisional cascades, followed by the mechanism underlying the radiolysis of water and the role of ultrafast redox reactions in aqueous environments. In the final part of my talk, I will offer a lesson in serendipity, in which an investigation into attosecond-resolved radiation chemistry ended up resolving a long-standing debate associated with the anomalies of water.