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Barrierless Single‐Electron‐Induced cis – trans Isomerization
Author(s) -
Klaiman Shachar,
Cederbaum Lorenz S.
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
angewandte chemie
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1521-3757
pISSN - 0044-8249
DOI - 10.1002/ange.201502963
Subject(s) - isomerization , chemistry , photochemistry , chemical reaction , reaction mechanism , activation energy , mechanism (biology) , electron , computational chemistry , catalysis , organic chemistry , physics , quantum mechanics
Lowering the activation energy of a chemical reaction is an essential part in controlling chemical reactions. By attaching a single electron, a barrierless path for the cis – trans isomerization of maleonitrile on the anionic surface is formed. The anionic activation can be applied in both reaction directions, yielding the desired isomer. We identify the microscopic mechanism that leads to the formation of the barrierless route for the electron‐induced isomerization. The generalization to other chemical reactions is discussed.