Nanofocusing, shadowing, and electron mean free path in the photoemission from aerosol droplets

Abstract

Angle-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy of aerosol droplets is a promising method for the determination of electron mean free paths in liquids. It is particularly attractive for volatile liquids, such as water. Here we report the first angle-resolved photoelectron images of droplets with defined sizes, viz. of water, glycerol, and dioctyl phthalate droplets. Example simulations of water droplet photoelectron images and data for electron mean free paths for liquid water at low kinetic energy (< 3eV) are provided. We present an approach that allows one to gradually vary the conditions from shadowing to nanofocusing to optimize the information content contained in the photoelectron images.