Molecules in Liquids Do the Impossible: Erasing Light in Real Time
Indian Defence Review••science
Key Points:
- Researchers from Ohio State University and Louisiana State University have used high-harmonic spectroscopy (HHS) to track electron motion in liquids on attosecond timescales, providing unprecedented detail on molecular interactions in dynamic liquid environments.
- The team overcame traditional challenges of studying liquids, such as light absorption and rapid molecular movement, by developing an ultrathin liquid sheet that allows emitted harmonic light to escape for analysis.
- Experiments on methanol mixed with various halobenzenes revealed a unique suppression of one harmonic in the methanol-fluorobenzene mixture, indicating a specific molecular interaction disrupting electron motion.
- Molecular dynamics simulations showed that a hydrogen bond between fluorine in fluorobenzene and methanol creates a local
