Site-specific Interrogation of an Ionic Chiral Fragment During Photolysis Using an X-ray Free-Electron Laser
Abstract
Short-wavelength free-electron lasers with their ultrashort pulses at high intensities have originated new approaches for tracking molecular dynamics from the vista of specific sites. X-ray pump X-ray probe schemes even allow to address individual atomic constituents with a 'trigger'-event that preludes the subsequent molecular dynamics while being able to selectively probe the evolving structure with a time-delayed second X-ray pulse. Here, we use a linearly polarized X-ray photon to trigger the photolysis of a prototypical chiral molecule, namely trifluoromethyloxirane (C$_3$H$_3$F$_3$O), at the fluorine K-edge at around 700 eV. The evolving fluorine-containing fragments are then probed by a second, circularly polarized X-ray pulse of higher photon energy in order to investigate the chemically shifted inner-shell electrons of the ionic motherfragment for their stereochemical sensitivity. We experimentally demonstrate and theoretically support how two-color X-ray pump X-ray probe experiments with polarization control enable XFELs as tools for chiral recognition.
- Publication:
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arXiv e-prints
- Pub Date:
- December 2020
- DOI:
- 10.48550/arXiv.2012.07100
- arXiv:
- arXiv:2012.07100
- Bibcode:
- 2020arXiv201207100I
- Keywords:
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- Physics - Chemical Physics
- E-Print:
- 14 pages, 5 figures