Ultrafast x-ray scattering of photodissociation dynamics in 2-iodothiophene
A time-resolved x-ray scattering (TRXS) investigation of the photodissociation dynamics of gas-phase 2-iodothiophene molecules following 252 nm excitation is presented. Structural evolution of the molecule and dynamical information on the resulting photofragments were captured using femtosecond x-ray free-electron laser pulses. Two dissociation pathways were identified, arising via excitation to ππ* and (n/π)σ* states, respectively, yielding distinct interfragment recoil velocities of ∼6.4 Åps-1 and 17.0 Åps-1. A comparison of asymptotic scattering data with simulated patterns indicates that the thiophene ring remains closed following dissociation at this wavelength. Modeling the experimental data yields a branching ratio of ∼3:1 in favor of the high velocity channel. These findings demonstrate the capability of TRXS to disentangle concurrent ultrafast reaction pathways and provide detailed structural insight into energy redistribution during photoinduced bond fission in complex molecular systems.
Authors
- Stuart W. Crane (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3517-5615)
- Felix Allum (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8044-8969)
- Asami Odate (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3377-1413)
- P. H. Bucksbaum (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1258-5571)
- Aaron M. Ghrist (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2196-9278)
- Lisa Huang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4357-9038)
- Thomas Northey (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6011-454X)
- Daniel A. Horke (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9862-8108)
- Grite L. Abma
- Russell S. Minns (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6775-2977)
- Peter Weber (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6022-6050)
- M. P. Minitti
- Ian Gabalski (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6782-6566)
- Alice E. Green (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6897-1247)
- Thomas Wolf (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0641-1279)
- Nathan Goff (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0008-3007-0639)
- Basile F. E. Curchod (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1705-473X)
- Martin Graßl (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0001-2611-5952)
- Lingyu Ma (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2300-1132)
- Xinxin Cheng (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1077-809X)
- Yusong Liu
- Sébastien Boutet
- Mengning Liang
- Weronika O. Razmus
- Gregory Gate
- Michael N. R. Ashfold
- Joseph Robinson
- Mathew Britton
- Ruaridh Forbes
Institutions
- Radboud University Nijmegen (NL)
- Universität Hamburg (DE)
- Brown University (US)
- SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (US)
- University of Bristol (GB)
- Center for Free-Electron Laser Science (DE)
- University of Southampton (GB)
- University of California, Davis (US)
- European X-Ray Free-Electron Laser (DE)
- University of Edinburgh (GB)
Publication Details
- Journal
- The Journal of Chemical Physics
- Published
- 2026-01-09
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0299432
- Primary Topic
- Laser-Matter Interactions and Applications
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- National Science Foundation
- U.S. Department of Energy
- Leverhulme Trust
- University of Southampton
- National Institutes of Health
- Office of Science
- National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate
- Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council
- Science and Technology Facilities Council
- Division of Chemistry
- Basic Energy Sciences
- Chemical Sciences, Geosciences, and Biosciences Division
- SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory