Conformer-specific dynamics Conformation-dependent dynamics play an important role in organic chemistry syntheses such as electrocyclic reactions, as well as in biological processes such as protein folding. However, current time-resolved experimental methods struggle to distinguish conformers from each other, and conformational isomerism is usually analyzed through reactant and product distributions. Using a combination of mega–electron volt ultrafast electron diffraction and quantum wave packet simulations, Champenois et al . directly followed the photochemical electrocyclic ring opening of the molecule α-phellandrene with femtosecond time resolution and confirmed that the transformation of a specific molecular conformer follows the famous Woodward-Hoffmann rules. The proposed method is potentially a powerful tool to follow conformer specificity in various organic and biological systems in real time. —YS

The structural dynamics of photoexcited gas-phase carbon disulfide (CS2) molecules are investigated using ultrafast electron diffraction.

We investigate the fragmentation and isomerization of toluene molecules induced by strong-field ionization with a femtosecond near infrared laser pulse. Momentum-resolved coincidence time-of-flight ion mass spectrometry is used to determine...

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