Knowing How Each Atom Moves in Real-Time During Chemical Reactions

ABSTRACT:

The Raman Effect occurs when light impinges upon a molecule and interacts with the electron cloud and the bonds of that molecule. Raman spectroscopy is commonly used in chemistry, since vibrational information is specific to the chemical bonds and symmetry of molecules. It therefore provides a fingerprint by which the molecule can be identified.A new spectroscopy technique to uncover the precise sequence of atomic movements and structural changes that occur during complex chemical transformations. GFP involves a classic intermolecular proton transfer reaction to produce its fluorescent form. This happens on an ultra fast timescale - from 10 femtoseconds to 10 picoseconds. To perform structural measurements and determine the mechanism and pathway of any reaction occurring in this time range by using femtosecond stimulated Raman spectroscopy (FSRS). A great deal was known about the kinetics of the proton transfer reaction but little was known about the actual complexity of the reaction coordinate or combination of atomic motions that must occur before the proton can be transferred. The time resolved structural data which told us the actual atomic motions that are necessary. 'This work shows a possibility that we will be able to know how structure changes in real-time even in very complex molecules like a protein using FSRS.

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