Bristol University group and ULTRA A study of the dynamics involved in the real-time formation of bonds in the solution phase has been highlighted as ground-breaking research by the editors of the Journal of Chemical Physics.
The Orr-Ewing group of the University of Bristol used the ULTRA laser (Lasers for Science Facility) to trigger and then monitor detailed events occurring in solution phase chemical reactions. Ultrafast UV laser pulses were used to generate CN radicals, which then went on to react with their surroundings, in this case chloroform and dichloromethane solutions. Dynamics of the reactions were monitored on an ultrafast timescale by looking at the tiny changes in absorption of ultrafast IR laser pulses over time. The experiments allowed the group to observe real-time formation of bonds in the solution phase, and detail features previously only seen in gas phase measurements.
The work published in the Journal of Chemical Physics (link opens in a new window), was selected by the editors as one of the articles published in 2011 that present ground-breaking research. The selected articles (link opens in a new window) represent only a fraction of the research published in the journal in 2011 and are representative of the broad cross-section of topics that the journal covers.
This success follows on from the group’s recent front cover publication in Science (link opens in a new window).
