Site-selective-induced isomerization of formamide

TL;DR

This study demonstrates how two-color X-ray femtosecond pump-probe techniques can induce and observe site-specific isomerization in formamide, revealing ultrafast molecular dynamics with high temporal and spatial resolution.

Contribution

It introduces a novel application of site-selective X-ray pulses to control and monitor molecular isomerization processes at specific atomic sites.

Findings

Successful site-specific excitation of formamide molecules.

Real-time observation of isomerization dynamics.

Enhanced understanding of ultrafast chemical transformations.

Abstract

The new capacity of X-ray free-electron laser (XFEL) facilities to produce multi-color X-ray femtosecond pulses paves the way to explore ultrafast phenomena in matter induced by X-ray photons. In the present study, we exploit the site selectivity and the high temporal resolution of a two-color X-ray femtosecond pump-probe sequence to investigate the isomerization of formamide. The pump pulse excites a particular atomic site in the molecule, while the probe pulse captures changes in the chemical environment at a remote atomic site.