Conformational memory in photodissociation of formic acid.
The trans and cis forms of formic acid (HCOOH) in solid argon favor essentially different photodissociation (193 nm) products, H2O + CO and H2 + CO2, respectively. The branching ratio of these channels differs between the two conformers by a factor of >10. The observed selective photodissociation features conformational memory when the transition state of a molecule is reached before torsional randomization. These data demonstrate that the photodissociation products can be efficiently steered with selective narrow-band infrared radiation promoting rotational isomerism, which makes a strong case of optically controlled chemical reactions
Khriachtchev
Leonid
L
Laboratory of Physical Chemistry, P.O. Box 55, FIN-00014 University of Helsinki, Finland. Leonid.Khriachtchev@Helsinki.Fi
Macoas
Ermelinda
E
Pettersson
Mika
M
Rasanen
Markku
M