Inducing transient enantiomeric excess in a molecular quantum racemic mixture with microwave fields

• Published in: Nature communications Vol. 14; no. 1; pp. 934 - 8
• Main Authors: Sun, Wenhao, Tikhonov, Denis S., Singh, Himanshi, Steber, Amanda L., Pérez, Cristóbal, Schnell, Melanie
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 20.02.2023; Nature Publishing Group; Nature Portfolio
• Subjects: 639/638/440/94; 639/766/36/1121; Alcohol; Benzyl alcohol; Chemistry; Cryoforming; Cryogenic temperature; Enantiomers; Humanities and Social Sciences; Mixtures; multidisciplinary; Quantum tunnelling; Rotational states; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); Wave packets

Chiral molecules with low enantiomer interconversion barriers racemize even at cryogenic temperatures due to quantum tunneling, forming a racemic mixture that is impossible to separate using conventional chemical methods. Here we both experimentally and theoretically demonstrate a method to create a...