Delayed ejection of cluster ions from a liquid-water beam following Mid-IR and Near-IR laser irradiation

Ions, OH−(H2O)n, are produced from a liquid beam of pure water via a formation of an ion pair (H+⋯OH−) and non-equilibrium disintegration of the liquid beam induced by Near-IR and Mid-IR laser excitation of liquid-water, respectively. The ions originate from the liquid beam surface and the inside, which liberated the ions into the gas phase at 0.2 and 1.7 ± 0.2 μs, respectively, after irradiation of the lasers.