Short electron pulses make it possible to observe a structural change in a complex molecule as if watching a film
Chemistry is now ready for the movies: an international team which includes researchers from the Max Planck Institute for the Structure and Dynamics of Matter in Hamburg has used a type of molecular camera to follow a fast-moving ballet performed by atoms in molecules as they change their structure. The researchers use a comparatively compact, efficient and low-cost technology for the detailed and slow-motion observation of how the miniscule atoms move at a molecular transition in a complex material. As is the case with all chemical reactions where atoms change position, such structural transformations take place in a few 100 femtoseconds or even faster – a femtosecond is a millionth of a billionth of a second. Although femtochemistry is already using recording technology for chemical processes, this has so far only been possible with large and expensive installations in which only selected research projects can be undertaken.