Chiral Recognition with High-Energy Photo- and Compton Electrons: A Theoretical Showcase Study of Methyloxirane and Trifluoromethyloxirane Molecules

We report a comparative theoretical study of molecular-frame angular emission distributions of high-energy electrons released from the O 1s inner shell of methyloxirane and trifluoromethyloxirane molecules via photoionization and, alternatively, ionization by a Compton scattering of high-energy photons. We demonstrate that the high-energy photo- and Compton electrons can be employed to determine the absolute configuration of these chiral molecules via diffraction imaging. This is particularly important in cases where the single-molecule handedness cannot be recognized from ionic fragmentation patterns. Thereby, we establish high-energy photoionization and ionization by Compton scattering as additional complementary tools for chiral recognition in the gas phase.