US EPA

651641 

Journal Article 

Time-resolved molecular frame dynamics of fixed-in-space CS2 molecules 

Bisgaard, CZ; Clarkin, OJ; Wu, G; Lee, AM; Gessner, O; Hayden, CC; Stolow, A 

2009 

1 

Science
ISSN: 0036-8075
EISSN: 1095-9203 

323 

5920 

1464-1468 

English 

19286552 

10.1126/science.1169183 

WOS:000264101700037 

Random orientation of molecules within a sample leads to blurred observations of chemical reactions studied from the laboratory perspective. Methods developed for the dynamic imaging of molecular structures and processes struggle with this, as measurements are optimally made in the molecular frame. We used laser alignment to transiently fix carbon disulfide molecules in space long enough to elucidate, in the molecular reference frame, details of ultrafast electronic-vibrational dynamics during a photochemical reaction. These three-dimensional photoelectron imaging results, combined with ongoing efforts in molecular alignment and orientation, presage a wide range of insights obtainable from time-resolved studies in the molecular frame.