Optical switching of radical pair conformation enhances magnetic sensitivity

TL;DR

This paper proposes a novel experimental method using molecular photoswitches to control radical pair reactions, significantly enhancing magnetic sensitivity and enabling detailed spin dynamics studies.

Contribution

It introduces a new approach to manipulate radical pair conformations, improving chemical magnetometer sensitivity and testing fundamental assumptions of the radical pair model.

Findings

Sensitivity of chemical magnetometers increased by two orders of magnitude

New experimental technique allows short-time resolution of spin dynamics

Proposes control of radical pair conformation via optical switching

Abstract

The yield of chemical reactions involving intermediate radical pairs is influenced by magnetic fields well beyond the levels expected from energy considerations. This dependence can be traced back to the microscopic dynamics of electron spins and constitutes the basis of the chemical compass. Here we propose a new experimental approach based on molecular photoswitches to achieve additional control on the chemical reaction and to allow short-time resolution of the spin dynamics. Our proposal enables experiments to test some of the standard assumptions of the radical pair model and improves the sensitivity of chemical magnetometers by two orders of magnitude.