RUTH

Solvation is one of the most fundamental and important phenomena in chemical science, playing a nearly ubiquitous role in affecting the structure and function of most biological processes. Hydrogen bonding with solvent molecules influences the physicochemical properties of biomolecules, profoundly influencing the molecular structure and dynamics, and even tremendously increasing the rates of chemical reactions. The properties associated with most biomolecules are not intrinsic, nor does it arise through bulk solvation effects, but instead arises from local microhydration, or interaction with the first few solvent molecules. However, a fundamental understanding of the solvation properties (e.g. energies, solvation shell size, and binding motifs) has yet to be attained. A clear notion of the number of water molecules necessary to exhibit bulk properties remains controversial. We aim to unravel the molecular nature of how the phenomena of solvation changes the physicochemical properties between molecular systems and aqueous solutions. For the study of these fundamental processes, an experimental laboratory based on the exploration of gas-phase clusters through mass spectrometry has been constructed. A femtosecond laser is utilized with the pump-probe technique. This program will reveal structural changes that account for the physicochemical differences between isolated gas phase and condensed phase systems.