Ultrafast dynamics of electron localization and solvation in ice layers on Cu(111)

The femtosecond dynamics of localization and solvation of photoinjected electrons in ultrathin layers of amorphous solid H2O and D2O have been studied by time- and angle-resolved two-photon-photoelectron spectroscopy. After electron transfer from the metal substrate into the conduction band of ice, the excess electron localizes within the first 100 fs in a state at 2.9 eV above E(F), which is further stabilized by 300 meV on a time scale of 0.5-1 ps due to molecular rearrangements in the adlayer. A pronounced change of the solvation dynamics at a coverage of approximately 2 bilayers is attributed to different rigidity of the solvation shell in the bulk and near the surface of ice.