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Taking Snapshots of Photoexcited Molecules in Disordered Media by Using Pulsed Synchrotron X‐rays
Author(s) -
Chen Lin X.
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
angewandte chemie international edition
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 5.831
H-Index - 550
eISSN - 1521-3773
pISSN - 1433-7851
DOI - 10.1002/anie.200300596
Subject(s) - femtosecond , excited state , synchrotron , ultrashort pulse , relaxation (psychology) , molecule , laser , chemical physics , synchrotron radiation , materials science , chemistry , atomic physics , physics , optics , psychology , social psychology , organic chemistry
Photoexcited molecules are quintessential reactants in photochemistry. Structures of these photoexcited molecules in disordered media in which a majority of photochemical reactions take place remained elusive for decades owing to a lack of suitable X‐ray sources, despite their importance in understanding fundamental aspects in photochemistry. As new pulsed X‐ray sources become available, short‐lived excited‐state molecular structures in disordered media can now be captured by using laser‐pulse pump, X‐ray pulse–probe techniques of third‐generation synchrotron sources with time resolutions of 30–100 ps, as demonstrated by examples in this review. These studies provide unprecedented information on structural origins of molecular properties in the excited states. By using other ultrafast X‐ray facilities that will be completed in the near future, time‐resolution for the excited‐state structure measurements should reach the femtosecond timescales, which will make “molecular movies” of bond breaking or formation, and vibrational relaxation, a reality.