Researchers directly visualize products of mutual neutralization of hydronium and hydroxide

March 04, 2024

Using the unique DESIREE facility, researchers at Stockholm University and The Hebrew University of Jerusalem have for the first time been able to directly visualize the neutral products of the mutual neutralization of hydronium and hydroxide, and report three different product channels: two channels were attributed to a predominant electron-transfer mechanism, and a smaller channel was associated with proton transfer.

The mutual neutralization (MN) of hydronium cation, H₃O⁺, and the hydroxide anion, OH^– to form neutral water molecules is one of the most basic chemical processes, where the MN by proton transfer (PT) between hydronium and hydroxide ions and the reverse reaction of water autoionization, as this governs the pH of pure water.

This process has attracted considerable interest, but direct experimental probing of the underlying reaction mechanisms has been lacking. By realizing the interaction in merged beams of two ionic species with near-zero relative velocity, the researchers were able to directly visualize the neutral products of these reactions and observe three different product channels.

Two channels are attributed to a predominant electron-transfer mechanism, and a smaller channel is associated with proton transfer. The two-beam collision experiment is an important step toward understanding the quantum dynamics of this fundamental reaction.

From:Phys.org