| Abstract
| - Solvent holes in liquid cis- and trans-decalin form metastable complexes with benzene, which are probablysolvation complexes of monomer radical cations of benzene. At 25 °C, the rate constants of formation of thecomplexes are, for trans- and cis-decalin respectively 1.1 × 1011 and 3.6 × 1010 M-1 s-1, and the naturallifetime of the complex is 7 ns for trans- and 50 ns for cis-decalin. Thermodynamic potentials for thecomplexation are determined. The heat of the complex formation is ≈−26 kJ/mol for trans- and ≈−18kJ/mol for cis-decalin. In cis-decalin, the complexes are more stable because of near-zero entropy of thecomplex formation. The complex decays by proton or H atom transfer with activation energy ≈10 kJ/mol(which yields a benzonium cation) or in a reactive encounter with a second benzene molecule (which yieldsa benzene dimer cation). Laser excitation of the dimer cation with a 1.165- or 2.33 eV photon causes valenceband electron transfer and injection of a free solvent hole.
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