PohangAn X-ray laser filmed azobenzene flipping in methanol solution.
The experiment addresses a long-standing debate over how azobenzene converts from its trans to cis form.
A 400 nm laser triggered the switch, and X-ray pulses recorded molecular structure at 140 time delays up to 100 picoseconds.
The authors say the method could reveal mechanisms of other organic reactions in solution.
How each outlet framed it
- Nature
- establishes time-resolved X-ray crystallography applicability to light-atom organic molecules; emphasizes global structural analysis over isolated geometric parameters
Sources: Nature