Bond‐Selective H⁻ Ion Abstraction from Thymine

Abstract

The attachment of free electrons to thymine in the gas phase leads to the abstraction of H− ions and a broad, structured feature in the energy range between 5 and 12 eV (see picture). In experiments with partly deuterated thymine the different peaks in the H− ion yield were shown to be associated unambiguously with abstraction from the different molecular positions. This reaction may be an important initial step towards DNA strand breaks.