Electron Transfer

Electron transfer initiates many chemical and biochemical reactions, but this fundamental process is generally obscured by solvent interactions and subsequent reaction steps. The group of Philip Brooks directly observe this process in the gas phase by colliding beams of electron donors such as K or Rb with beams of electron acceptor molecules and detecting the ions formed when the electron is transferred. They identify the negative ions by mass spectrometry and find species not generally produced by electron bombardment. In separate experiments, they are able to orient the target molecule prior to electron transfer and determine how the orientation affects electron transfer. In some cases different ions are produced by attack at different ends.

Hexapole field used to orient molecules before electron transfer