Conformer Selection by Matter-Wave Interference

Phys Rev Lett. 2018 Oct 26;121(17):173002. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.121.173002.

Abstract

We establish that matter-wave diffraction at near-resonant ultraviolet optical gratings can be used to spatially separate individual conformers of complex molecules. Our calculations show that the conformational purity of the prepared beam can be close to 100% and that all molecules remain in their electronic ground state. The proposed technique is independent of the dipole moment and the spin of the molecule and thus paves the way for structure-sensitive experiments with hydrocarbons and biomolecules, such as neurotransmitters and hormones, which have evaded conformer-pure isolation so far.