Ultrafast Electron Diffraction Imaging of Bond Breaking in Di-Ionized Acetylene
Abstract
Visualizing chemical reactions as they occur requires atomic spatial and femtosecond temporal resolution. Here, we report imaging of the molecular structure of acetylene (C₂H₂) 9 femtoseconds after ionization. Using mid-infrared laser-induced electron diffraction (LIED), we obtained snapshots as a proton departs the [C₂H₂]²⁺ ion. By introducing an additional laser field, we also demonstrate control over the ultrafast dissociation process and resolve different bond dynamics for molecules oriented parallel versus perpendicular to the LIED field. These measurements are in excellent agreement with a quantum chemical description of field-dressed molecular dynamics.
Recommended Citation
B. Wolter and M. G. Pullen and A. Le and M. Baudisch and K. Doblhoff-Dier and A. Senftleben and M. Hemmer and C. D. Schroeter and J. Ullrich and T. Pfeifer and R. Moshammer and S. Grafe and O. Vendrell and C. D. Lin and J. Biegert, "Ultrafast Electron Diffraction Imaging of Bond Breaking in Di-Ionized Acetylene," Science, vol. 354, no. 6310, pp. 308 - 312, American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), Oct 2016.
The definitive version is available at https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aah3429
Department(s)
Physics
Keywords and Phrases
Acetylene Derivative; Di Ionized Acetylene; Proton; Unclassified Drug, Acetylene; Chemical Reaction; Diffraction; Electron; Ionization; Molecular Analysis; Quantum Mechanics; Spatial Resolution, Article; Chemical Bond; Chemical Structure; Dissociation; Electron Diffraction; Ionization; Molecular Imaging; Molecule; Priority Journal; Quantum Chemistry; Ultrafast Electron Diffraction Imaging
International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)
0036-8075
Document Type
Article - Journal
Document Version
Citation
File Type
text
Language(s)
English
Rights
© 2016 American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), All rights reserved.
Publication Date
01 Oct 2016
PubMed ID
27846561
