Ultrafast solvation dynamics explored by nonlinear optical spectroscopy

Chemical reaction dynamics and chemical rate processes in the liquid phase are intimately connected to the specific interaction of the solvent on the reaction species. The strong coupling between the dissolved solute and the dynamical solvent causes fluctuations in the solute's energy levels. These solvent induced energy-level fluctuations play a major role in the final chemical reaction dynamics and chemical reaction rates. The aim of the thesis is the characterization of molecular solvation dynamics, thereby addressing the dynamic properties of the solute-solvent information. The key function that captures the fluctuations in the electronic energy gap is the energy gap correlation function. In this thesis we have applied a scale of optical methods, based on the general concept of the time-domain four-wave mixing to study the solvation dynamics of a specific solute-solvent probe. ... Zie: Summary