Dynamics of Electrons in Nonpolar Liquids

Electrons are produced in several organic liquids by the two-photon laser photolysis of dilute solutions of anthracene and pyrene in these liquids. The rate constants for reaction of the electron with biphenyl, carbon tetrachloride and oxygen in alkanes have been measured, and are found to be much larger than the values quoted in polar solvents. The rate constants for reaction of the electron with biphenyl increase with the square root of the electron mobility while the corresponding reaction with O2 is independent of the electron mobility. The mobility of the electron in hydrocarbon mixtures follows the exponential of the mole fraction of the hydrocarbon with the higher mobility. Complex behavior is observed in alcohol-hydrocarbon mixtures, which may be explained in terms of aggregates of alcohol in these mixtures. The data are discussed in terms of the present theories of the state of electrons in liquids.