An Updated View of Primary Ionization Processes in Polar Liquids

According to picosecond radiolysis data, primary radical cations in irradiated carbonates are very rapidly deprotonated. At the same time, analysis of the radiation-induced fluorescence from carbonate solutions indicates the formation of solvent-related radical cationic species with a relatively long lifetime. We use quantum chemical methods to develop a model of carbonate ionization that reconciles these conflicting data. Using ethylene carbonate as an example and assuming that its molecules exist in solution as a collection of dimeric associates, we show that both processes are the result of the loss of an electron from such dimers. This demonstrates that the generally accepted conceptualization of a primary ionization event, based on the idea of the formation of a radical cation of an individual molecule of an irradiated substance, requires revision in the case of polar aprotic liquids that tend to form molecular associates.

Automated summary

The primary radical cations in irradiated carbonates are rapidly deprotonated, while solvent-related radical cationic species with a longer lifetime are also formed. A quantum chemical model of carbonate ionization reconciles these conflicting data. The loss of an electron from dimeric associates in solution is shown to explain these processes, suggesting a revision of the traditional conceptualization of ionization events for polar aprotic liquids.