Abstract

The response of solvent to the change of charge or dipole of solute molecules has been intensely studied in recent years¹. In previous solvation experiments, time dependent fluorescence Stokes shift of dye molecules in different solvents were measured, from which the solvation time for the solvents were determined¹,². Various theories, from the simple dielectric continuum model to instantaneous solvent normal mode analysis, have been used to relate solvent motions to solvation time³,⁴. MD simulations have also been carried out to understand the nature of these solvent motions in the solvation process⁵. However, these time dependent Stokes shift experiments, which measure the solute fluorescence, can only provide an indirect microscopic picture of the relevant solvent motions during the solvation process.

© 1996 Optical Society of America