Chiral molecule are mirror images of each other and non-superimposable, which is similar to a pair of hands. Enantiomers can have adverse effects in bio-chemical phenomena. A target molecule can only be bind by one enantiomeric form. In the food, fragrance, and pharmaceutical industries, identification and control of chirality is important.
Circular dichroism is a technique used to identify pairs of enantiomers. Circular dichroism can help resolve the conformation of a molecule through its chiral response, a feature that has made it a popular analytical tool.
Circular dichroism has been limited in its range. The group of Majed Chergui at EPFL has developed a new time-resolved instrument that can take snapshots of circular dichroism changes in fractions of a second. This makes it possible to resolve the motion of the absorbed light energy.
The researchers used the new method to investigate the magnetic-switching dynamics of iron. Despite its importance for magnetic data storage, the deactivation mechanism of their magnetic state has remained unresolved after decades of research.
The researchers discovered that the loss of magnetization is caused by a twisting of the molecule's structure. The team was able to slow down the decay of the magnetic state by suppressing the twisting motion in modified complexes.
The ground-breaking experiments show that time-resolved circular dichroism is uniquely suited to capture the motion that drives many chemical processes.
The study was published in Nature Chemistry.
More information: Malte Oppermann, Chiral control of spin-crossover dynamics in Fe(II) complexes, Nature Chemistry (2022). DOI: 10.1038/s41557-022-00933-0. www.nature.com/articles/s41557-022-00933-0 Journal information: Nature Chemistry Citation: Tracking chirality in real time (2022, May 26) retrieved 26 May 2022 from https://phys.org/news/2022-05-tracking-chirality-real.html This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.
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