The Photochemical Ring-Opening of 1,3-Cyclohexadiene Imaged by Ultrafast Electron Diffraction
Published in Nature Chemistry, 11, 504 (2019), 2019
Recommended citation: T. J. A. Wolf, D. M. Sanchez, J. Yang, et al. (2019). "The Photochemical Ring-Opening of 1,3-Cyclohexadiene Imaged by Ultrafast Electron Diffraction." Nature Chemistry, 11(6), 504-509. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41557-019-0252-7
Directly observes the 1,3-cyclohexadiene ring-opening reaction path at the femtosecond timescale and sub-ångström length scale using megaelectronvolt ultrafast electron diffraction.
- Follows the C–C bond dissociation and ring-opening through time-dependent changes in the distribution of interatomic distances.
- Observes substantial acceleration of the ring-opening motion after internal conversion to the ground state, due to a steepening of the electronic potential gradient toward the product minima.
- Captures the transformation into rotation of the terminal ethylene groups in 1,3,5-hexatriene on the sub-picosecond timescale.