ATTOsecond Photochemistry: controlling chemical reactions with electrons

Introduction

ATTOP is a theoretical chemistry project that will explore the synergy between the two fields of attoscience and photochemistry. Chemical processes initiated by light are extremely widespread, and their applications cover vital molecular research fields from medicine to computer science and energy conversion.

Limitations of Photochemical Reactions

However, photochemical reactions are limited by the nature and finite number of molecular electronic excited states. To overcome this fundamental limitation, ATTOP proposes to bring very recent technological progress in extreme ultrashort light pulses—attosecond science—to the field of photochemistry and to launch the unprecedented field of "atto-photochemistry."

The Concept of Electronic Wavepackets

Indeed, light pulses of such short duration have a large spectral bandwidth and excite multiple electronic excited states in a simultaneous and coherent manner. This superposition, called an "electronic wavepacket," has a new electronic distribution and is thus expected to lead to a new reactivity.

Unresolved Questions

The following questions remain unresolved:

1. What would be the reactivity of a molecule in these new types of electronic states that are becoming accessible experimentally?
2. To what extent will the manipulation of an electronic wavepacket produced by an attosecond domain pulse transform the outcome of chemical reactions?

The Need for Theoretical Support

As an emerging field, atto-photochemistry requires theoretical support right from the start. Thanks to the PI's unique combination of expertise in both theoretical attoscience and photochemistry, the ATTOP team will describe accurately chemical reactions induced by electronic wavepackets via attosecond domain pulses.

Goals of the ATTOP Project

The final aim of ATTOP is to develop a general know-how to:

• Design molecular systems
• Create electronic wavepackets
• Conduct attosecond experiments that transform the outcome of photochemical reactions for diverse applications.

By doing so, atto-photochemistry will revolutionize photochemistry, with direct impact on many other domains of molecular science.