title: Electron-driven acid-base chemistry: proton transfer from hydrogen chloride to ammonia.
abstract: In contrast to widely familiar acid-base behavior in solution, single molecules of NH3 and HCl do not react to form the ionic salt, NH+4Cl-, in isolation. We applied anion photoelectron spectroscopy and ab initio theory to investigate the interaction of an excess electron with the hydrogen-bonded complex NH3...HCl. Our results show that an excess electron induces this complex to form the ionic salt. We propose a mechanism that proceeds through a dipole-bound state to form the negative ion of ionic ammonium chloride, a species that can also be characterized as a deformed Rydberg radical, NH4, polarized by a chloride anion, Cl-.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA.
authors.forename: Soren N
authors.initials: SN
authors.lastname: Eustis
authors.forename: Dunja
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Radisic
authors.forename: Kit H
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Bowen
authors.forename: Rafal A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Bachorz
authors.forename: Maciej
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Haranczyk
authors.forename: Gregory K
authors.initials: GK
authors.lastname: Schenter
authors.forename: Maciej
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gutowski