Computational studies of the x-ray scattering properties of laser aligned stilbene

Journal Article · Mon Feb 07 00:00:00 EST 2011 · Journal of Chemical Physics

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.3523569· OSTI ID:21559995

Debnarova, Andrea; Techert, Simone ^[1]; Schmatz, Stefan ^[2]

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1. Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry, Goettingen (Germany)
2. Institut fuer Physikalische Chemie, Universitaet Goettingen (Germany)

The enhancement of the x-ray scattering signal from partially aligned molecular samples is investigated. The alignment properties of the studied molecular system are modeled based on the method of laser alignment. With the advances in the area of laser alignment of molecules, the application of this sample manipulation technique promises a great potential for x-ray scattering measurements. Preferential alignment of molecules in an otherwise amorphous sample leads to constructive interference and thus increases the scattering intensity. This enhances the structural information encoded in the scattering images and enables improved resolution in studies of reaction dynamics, as in this work is shown for the example of the photo-isomerization of stilbene. We demonstrate that the scattering signal is strongly influenced by the alignment axis. Even the most basic one-dimensional alignment offers significant improvement compared to the structural information provided by a randomly oriented sample. Although the signal is sensitive to the uncertainty in the alignment angle, it offers encouraging results even at realistic alignment uncertainties.

• OSTI ID: 21559995
• Journal Information: Journal of Chemical Physics, Vol. 134, Issue 5; Other Information: DOI: 10.1063/1.3523569; (c) 2011 American Institute of Physics; ISSN 0021-9606
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

37 INORGANIC
ORGANIC
PHYSICAL AND ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
74 ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS
ALIGNMENT
BIOCHEMISTRY
BIOPHYSICS
ISOMERIZATION
LASERS
MOLECULAR STRUCTURE
PHOTOCHEMISTRY
REACTION KINETICS
SIGNALS
STILBENE
X-RAY DIFFRACTION
X-RAY SPECTRA
AROMATICS
CHEMICAL REACTIONS
CHEMISTRY
COHERENT SCATTERING
DIFFRACTION
HYDROCARBONS
KINETICS
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
PHYSICS
SCATTERING
SPECTRA