Fig. 4: Bimolecular reaction to form \({{\rm{H}}}_{3}^{+}\) from water molecules on \({{\rm{SiO}}}_{2}\) nanoparticles.
From: Anomalous formation of trihydrogen cations from water on nanoparticles
An illustration of two potential processes responsible from the formation of \({\mathrm{H}}_{3}^{+}\) from water molecules on the surface of silica nanoparticles. The bottom panel demonstrates a nanoparticle in an intense laser field. The orange dashed line depicts the formation of \({\mathrm{H}}_{3}^{+}\) from two separate water molecules through a roaming on the surface mechanism. The green dashed line depicts the roaming mechanism within a water dimer. In both cases, there exist four stages. Stage 1 shows the ground state. Stage 2 shows the migration mechanism leading to the formation of a hydrogen molecule. Stage 3 is roaming close to another water ion. Stage 4 is the formation of \({\mathrm{H}}_{3}^{+}\).
