Name: coulomb explosion imaging as a tool to distinguish between stereoisomers
Uploaded: 2017-08-18T15:00:00
Description: Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Coulomb Explosion Imaging as a Tool to Distinguish Between Stereoisomers at JoVE.com

We thank Robert Berger (Philipps-Universit&#228;t Marburg, Germany) for inspiring discussions about the interpretation of our data and molecular chirality in general. We are grateful to Julia Kiedrowski, Alexander Schie&#223;er and Michael Reggelin from TU Darmstadt (Germany), as well as Benjamin Spenger, Manuel Mazenauer and J&#252;rgen Stohner from ZHAW W&#228;denswil (Switzerland) for providing the sample.
The project was supported by the Hessen State Initiative for Scientific and Economic Excellence under the focus ELCH (Electron dynamics of chiral systems) and the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). MS acknowledges financial support by the Adolf Messer foundation.

Caution: Make sure to be familiar with all possible hazards connected with the experiment and in the laboratory. The procedure below includes class-IV lasers, high voltage and vacuum. Consult the material safety data sheet (MSDS) for the species to be investigated.

1. Preparation
<ol>
	<li>Preparatory considerations 
	NOTE: Before the actual experiment starts, two main choices have to be made; the first regarding the possible species under investigations...

<ol>
	<li>G&#252;bitz, G., Schmid, M. G. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Chiral+Separation+by+Chromatographic+and+Electromigration+Techniques.+A+Review.">Chiral Separation by Chromatographic and Electromigration Techniques. A Review.</a> Biopharm. Drug Disposition. 22, 291-336 (2001).</li><li>Berova, N., Polaravapu, P. L., Nakanishi, K., Woody, R. W. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=.">.</a> Comprehensive Chiroptical Spectroscopy. , (2012).</li><li>Bijvoet, J. M., Peerdeman, A. F., van Bommel, A. J. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Determination+of+the+Absolute+Configuration+of+Optically+Active+Compounds+by+means+of+X-rays.">Determination of the Absolute Configuration of Optically Active Compounds by means of X-rays.</a> Nature. 168 (4268), 271-272 (1951).</li><li>Pitzer, M., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Direct+Determination+of+Absolute+Molecular+Stereochemistry+in+Gas+Phase+by+Coulomb+Explosion+Imaging.">Direct Determination of Absolute Molecular Stereochemistry in Gas Phase by Coulomb Explosion Imaging.</a> Science. 341 (6150), 1096-1100 (2013).</li><li>Pitzer, M., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Absolute+Configuration+from+Different+Multifragmentation+Pathways+in+Light-Induced+Coulomb+Explosion+Imaging.">Absolute Configuration from Different Multifragmentation Pathways in Light-Induced Coulomb Explosion Imaging.</a> Chem Phys Chem. 17 (16), 2465-2472 (2016).</li><li>Vager, Z., Naaman, R., Kanter, E. P. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Coulomb+Explosion+Imaging+of+small+molecules.">Coulomb Explosion Imaging of small molecules.</a> Science. 244 (4903), 426-431 (1989).</li><li>Herwig, P. H., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Imaging+the+Absolute+Configuration+of+a+Chiral+Epoxide+in+the+Gas+Phase.">Imaging the Absolute Configuration of a Chiral Epoxide in the Gas Phase.</a> Science. 342 (6162), 1084-1186 (2013).</li><li>D&#246;rner, R., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Cold+Target+Recoil+Ion+Momentum+Spectroscopy:+a+'momentum+microscope'+to+view+atomic+collision+dynamics.">Cold Target Recoil Ion Momentum Spectroscopy: a 'momentum microscope' to view atomic collision dynamics.</a> Physics Reports. 330, 95-192 (2000).</li><li>Ullrich, J., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Recoil-ion+and+electron+momentum+spectroscopy:+reaction-microscopes.">Recoil-ion and electron momentum spectroscopy: reaction-microscopes.</a> Rep. Prog. Phys. 66 (9), 1463-1545 (2003).</li><li>Jagutzki, O., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Multiple+Hit+Readout+of+a+Microchannel+Plate+Detector+With+a+Three-Layer+Delay-Line+Anode.">Multiple Hit Readout of a Microchannel Plate Detector With a Three-Layer Delay-Line Anode.</a> IEEE Trans Nucl Sci. 49 (5), 2477-2483 (2002).</li><li>. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=.">.</a> RoentDek GmbH MCP Delay Line Detector Manual. , (2017).</li><li>. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=.">.</a> RoentDek GmbH The RoentDek Constant Fraction Discriminators CFD8c, CFD7x, CFD4c, CFD1c and CFD1x. , (2017).</li><li>Zeller, S., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Imaging+the+He2+quantum+halo+state+using+a+free+electron+laser.">Imaging the He2 quantum halo state using a free electron laser.</a> PNAS. 113 (51), 14651-14655 (2016).</li><li>Pitzer, M., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Stereochemical+configuration+and+selective+excitation+of+the+chiral+molecule+halothane.">Stereochemical configuration and selective excitation of the chiral molecule halothane.</a> J. Phys. B.: At. Mol. Opt. Phys. 49 (23), 234001 (2016).</li><li>Hine, J., Dowell, A. M., Singley, J. E. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Carbon+Dihalides+as+Intermediates+in+the+Basic+Hydrolysis+of+Haloforms:+IV+Relative+Reactivities+of+Haloforms.">Carbon Dihalides as Intermediates in the Basic Hydrolysis of Haloforms: IV Relative Reactivities of Haloforms.</a> J. Am. Soc. Chem. 78, 479-482 (1956).</li><li>Wales, B., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=A+coincidence+detection+algorithm+for+improving+detection+rates+in+coulomb+explosion+imaging.">A coincidence detection algorithm for improving detection rates in coulomb explosion imaging.</a> Nucl. Instr. Meth. in Phys. Res. A. 667, 11-15 (2012).</li><li>Kastirke, G. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=.">.</a> Konstruktion und Aufbau einer UHV-tauglichen COLTRIMS-Kammer. , (2014).</li><li>Calegari, F., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Charge+migration+induced+by+attosecond+pulses+in+bio-relevant+molecules.">Charge migration induced by attosecond pulses in bio-relevant molecules.</a> J. Phys. B.: At. Mol. Opt. Phys. 49 (14), 142001 (2016).</li><li>Gaie-Levrel, F., Garcia, G. A., Schwell, M., Nahon, L. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=VUV+state-selected+photoionization+of+thermally-desorbed+biomolecules+by+coupling+an+aerosol+source+to+an+imaging+photoelectron/photoion+coincidence+spectrometer:+case+of+the+amino+acids+tryptophan+and+phenylalanine.">VUV state-selected photoionization of thermally-desorbed biomolecules by coupling an aerosol source to an imaging photoelectron/photoion coincidence spectrometer: case of the amino acids tryptophan and phenylalanine.</a> Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys. 13, 7024-7036 (2010).</li><li>Ablikim, U., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Identification+of+absolute+geometries+of+cis+and+trans+molecular+isomers+by+Coulomb+Explosion+Imaging.">Identification of absolute geometries of cis and trans molecular isomers by Coulomb Explosion Imaging.</a> Sci. Rep. 6, 38202 (2016).</li></ol>

Due to the variety of components, a COLTRIMS setup requires a rather high level of technical expertise, especially in the areas of vacuum technique, particle detection, fast electronics and data analysis. Before turning to the investigation of complex species, it should thus be thoroughly checked if the setup is running properly, e.g. by performing and analyzing a measurement on a diatomic or triatomic species.
Optimizing the intensity and duration of the laser pulses and the overlap ...

Chirality is a feature of our nature that has been fascinating researchers for more than 150 years. In the 19th century, Pasteur, van&#39;t Hoff and others discovered that molecules can occur in two mirror image structures that are not super-imposable - like our left and right hands. This property was termed &#39;chiral&#39;, from the Greek word for &#39;hand&#39;.
So far, no difference in thermodynamic properties or in energy levels of left- and right-handed forms (the two &#39;enantiomers&#39;) has been found. In order to analyze the handedness of a given sample and to separate the enantiomers, interaction with other chiral molecules can be used, as is for example done in various chromatographical approaches.1 Chiroptical methods such as (vibrational) circular dichroism, (V)CD, and optical rotatory dispersion, ORD, are routinely employed to distinguish between enantiomers.2
When it comes to the determination of the microscopic structure, these techniques require additional information, e.g. from quantum-chemical calculations. The only technique that is widely accepted to directly determine the absolute configuration is anomalous X-ray diffraction.3
It has recently been shown that the absolute configuration of simple chiral species can be determined by Coulomb Explosion Imaging.4,5 In this approach, molecules in the gas phase are multiply ionized so that the remaining cores strongly repel each other. This repulsion leads to fast fragmentation (&#39;explosion&#39;) of the molecules. The direction and the magnitude of the fragment momenta correlate to the structure of the molecule &#8211; for small molecules, the momentum directions correspond surprisingly well to the bond axes. Coulomb Explosion for molecular structure determination has been pioneered using molecular ion beams from an accelerator.6 This beam foil technique has recently also been applied for chiral recognition.7
Contrary to anomalous X-ray diffraction, the sample must not be crystalline but provided in the gas phase. This makes the Coulomb Explosion approach ideal for volatile species and thus complementary to X-ray diffraction. In certain cases, the handedness can even be determined for individual molecules.
In practice, the exact reconstruction of the molecular structure has proven difficult even for methane derivatives, e.g. molecules with a central carbon and different substituents. This is attributed to the fact that the interaction between the fragments is not exactly Coulombic and that not all bonds break simultaneously. In order to obtain stereochemical information, especially to distinguish between enantiomers, this reconstruction is fortunately not necessary. Instead, the momentum vectors of different fragments can be correlated to yield a quantity that is distinct for the left- and right-handed molecules. To get reliable results, at least four fragment momenta have to be recorded.
In order to measure this momentum information, the fragments from one &#8211; and only one &#8211; molecular break-up have to be detected in a single measurement step. This condition is usually referred to as &#39;coincident detection&#39;. In addition, the emission directions have to be analyzed, which amounts in practice to record the time and the position of the fragment impact in a list-mode data format.
In atomic and molecular physics, techniques have been developed that implement this approach of measurement by employing electrostatic spectrometers for mass separation and time- and position-sensitive multi-hit detectors. The most prominent example is the COLTRIMS (Cold Target Recoil Ion Momentum Spectroscopy) setup &#8211; also known as Reaction Microscope.8,9 A sketch for this kind of experiment is given in Figure 1. Contrary to a standard COLTRIMS that can record electrons as well, Coulomb Explosion Imaging requires only the ion detector.
Spectrometer and detector are mounted under ultra-high vacuum (&#60;1 x 10-9 hPa) to avoid creation of ions from residual gas. Single molecules of the sample are provided via a gaseous free molecular jet created by supersonic expansion: By virtue of the vapor pressure, the molecules expand through a small nozzle (around 50 &#181;m diameter) into the vacuum. This part of the experiment, the source chamber, is separated from the interaction region by usually two skimmers and differentially pumped stages. An additional differentially pumped section is located behind the interaction region to dump the gas jet and thus avoid background gas in the interaction region.
The ionizing radiation intersects with the molecular jet under 90&#176;. Most laboratories nowadays use femtosecond laser pulses, although synchrotron radiation, fast ions or electron impact are possible &#39;projectiles&#39; to induce Coulomb Explosion.
The following protocol makes the assumption that a running setup for coincident imaging of ions and a femtosecond laser are available in the lab. The peak intensity needed to induce Coulomb Explosion into four or even five fragments must be on the order of 6 x 1014 W/cm2. To avoid exceedingly long measurements, the repetition rate of the laser should be 10 kHz or more. This is crucial because, on the one hand, coincident detection can only be ascertained if the probability for fragmentation in the laser focus is significantly below 1 per laser pulse (ideally not more than 10%). The total fragmentation rate, on the other hand, should not be lower than a few kHz because the share of relevant multifragmentation pathways is usually less than 10-4. As encouraging fact, it should be mentioned that in principle already a single fragmentation event is sufficient to identify the configuration of an enantiopure sample, and that detection of a few hundred allows to determine the abundance of the enantiomers in a sample of unknown enantiomeric composition.

<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="599">
	<tbody>
		<tr height="31">
			<td height="31" style="height:31px;width:179px;">CHBrCl2</td>
			<td style="width:93px;">SigmaAldrich</td>
			<td style="width:147px;">139181-10G</td>
			<td style="width:180px;">or other suitable sample</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="31">
			<td height="31" style="height:31px;width:179px;">femtosecond laser system</td>
			<td>KMLabs</td>
			<td style="width:147px;">Wyvern500</td>
			<td style="width:180px;"></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="31">
			<td height="31" style="height:31px;width:179px;">High-reflective mirrors</td>
			<td>EKSMA</td>
			<td style="width:147px;">042-0800</td>
			<td style="width:180px;"></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="31">
			<td height="31" style="height:31px;width:179px;">mirror mounts</td>
			<td>Newport</td>
			<td style="width:147px;">U100-A-LH-2K&#160;&#160;</td>
			<td style="width:180px;"></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="35">
			<td height="35" style="height:35px;width:179px;">focusing mirror (protected silver, f = 75 mm)</td>
			<td>Thorlabs&#160;</td>
			<td style="width:147px;">CM254-075-P01</td>
			<td style="width:180px;">(if available: f = 60 mm)</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="51">
			<td height="51" style="height:51px;width:179px;">COLTRIMS spectrometer, including electronics and data acquisition system</td>
			<td>RoentDek</td>
			<td style="width:147px;">custom</td>
			<td style="width:180px;">contrary to the standard COLTRIMS, only one detector is needed</td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

coulomb explosion imaging as a tool to distinguish between stereoisomers

This article shows how the COLTRIMS (Cold Target Recoil Ion Momentum Spectroscopy) or the "reaction microscope" technique can be used to distinguish between enantiomers (stereoisomers) of simple chiral species on the level of individual molecules. In this approach, a gaseous molecular jet of the sample expands into a vacuum chamber and intersects with femtosecond (fs) laser pulses. The high intensity of the pulses leads to fast multiple ionization, igniting a so-called Coulomb Explosion that produces several cationic (positively charged) fragments. An electrostatic field guides these cations onto time- and position-sensitive detectors. Similar to a time-of-flight mass spectrometer, the arrival time of each ion yields information on its mass. As a surplus, the electrostatic field is adjusted in a way that the emission direction and the kinetic energy after fragmentation lead to variations in the time-of-flight and in the impact position on the detector.
Each ion impact creates an electronic signal in the detector; this signal is treated by high-frequency electronics and recorded event by event by a computer. The registered data correspond to the impact times and positions. With these data, the energy and the emission direction of each fragment can be calculated. These values are related to structural properties of the molecule under investigation, i.e. to the bond lengths and relative positions of the atoms, allowing to determine molecule by molecule the handedness of simple chiral species and other isomeric features.

In this part, we show results obtained for halomethanes. These species are ideal for proof-of-principle experiments due to their simplicity and high vapor pressure. In the meantime, the more complex species halothane has been investigated using single soft-x-ray photons from a synchrotron source to induce multiple ionization.14
CHBrClF
Bromochlo...

Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Coulomb Explosion Imaging as a Tool to Distinguish Between Stereoisomers at JoVE.com

Coulomb Explosion Imaging as a Tool to Distinguish Between Stereoisomers

For small chiral species, Coulomb Explosion Imaging provides a new approach to determine the handedness of individual molecules.

This article shows how the COLTRIMS (Cold Target Recoil Ion Momentum Spectroscopy) or the "reaction microscope" technique can be used to distinguish ...

The overall goal of this experiment is to use Coulomb explosion to image the handedness of individual molecules in the gas phase. This method is a new approach to address important questions in stereochemistry. In particular, it allows to determine the absolute configuration of small chiral species and their photoinduced dynamics.The main advantage of this technique is that energy and emission direction of all charge fragments from a molecular breakup can be recorded in coincidence. We have developed this multicoincidence imaging technique over a period for more than 25 years to learn more about and to measure the secrets of stereochemistry on the basis of single molecules. The heart of the experiment is a setup for coincident imaging of ions and a femtosecond laser such as this COLTRIMS apparatus.The femtosecond laser beam enters from an adjacent room. The basics of the COLTRIMS technique are depicted in this animation. A molecular beam enters the vacuum chamber through a nozzle and a skimmer.A laser beam crosses the molecular beam at right angles and leads to ionization and subsequent fragmentation. The electric field in the spectrometer guides the ions to the detector where the times and the positions of their impacts are recorded. Prepare the setup for operation and check the vacuum in the interaction chamber.The pressure should be less than 10 to the negative nine hectopascal. With the laser on and at low intensity perform the beam alignment. Be sure the beam enters the experiment chamber and is reflected from the chamber's focusing mirror.Use a beam card to check that the incoming and outgoing beams coincide spatially. Block the laser beam before continuing. Prepare to turn on the spectrometer and detector power supplies.First, turn off the vacuum gauges in the interaction chamber. Next, connect the amplified signal output of the microchannel plates to a fast oscilloscope. Now turn on the high voltage power supplies for the detector and the electric field in the spectrometer.Return to work with the laser beam by first unblocking it. Have a rotatable polarization filter ready to adjust the beam intensity. Place a power meter in the beam just before the chamber and use the filter to adjust the beam intensity to below 10 to the 14th watts per square centimeter.For this setup, this corresponds to 100 milliwatts on the power meter. Remove the power meter and observe the oscilloscope trace. It is crucial to check the signal quality and the detector settings.If too much noise is recorded the true coincidences are very difficult to find. The signal frequency should be about 5%of the laser repetition rate. The signal should have one peak of several hundred millivolts without any ringing.The width of the signals from the microchannel plate should not exceed 10 nanoseconds. Now turn to the the data acquisition software. There, display an image of the detector, which should be a circle with a diffused spot at its center due to the laser.At this point, provide one bar of argon from a gas cylinder as the source for the gas jet. Observe the detector image live in the data acquisition software while adjusting the focusing mirror. If a narrow spot appears overlap between the molecular jet and the laser beam has been located.The goal is to maximize the jet beam overlap and increase the counts in the jet spot. After optimizing the jet beam overlap, prepare the sample for use in the experiment. This sample is already in a cylinder that is compatible with the setup.First, cool the cylinder in liquid nitrogen for one to two minutes to avoid sample losses. Connect the cooled cylinder to the jet system and tighten the connection to make it vacuum-proof. Next, open the valve to pump the system for a few seconds to remove air.Wait for the sample to return to room temperature before opening the valve to the jet nozzle. The pressure in the source chamber should increase. Return to the data acquisition software.At the computer, verify that a jet spot is still visible, and identify the most prominent peaks in the time-of-flight spectrum. Continue to work in the data acquisition software. For analysis, make a plot using the time-of-flight of the first detected ion along the x-axis and the time-of-flight of the second detected ion along the y-axis.When two fragments have been detected in coincidence, they appear as regions with many counts. If two fragments add up to the parent mass, they fulfill momentum conservation and show up as sharp diagonal lines. Perform a time-of-flight analysis of four particles with a plot created by summing the times-of-flight for the first and second hits to use as the x-axis value and summing the times-of-flight for the third and fourth hits to use for the y-axis value.The positions and shapes of the resulting structures reveal information of the masses and momenta. Adjust the laser power so that the number of counts in the spectrum is optimized. When optimizing the rate for the relevant breakup we have to kep in mind that the overall rate should not exceed 10%of the laser repetition rate to avoid false coincidences.These data are from a synthetic racemic mixture of bromochlorofluoromethane. Only events where a fragmentation into five singly charged ions were recorded are shown. The horizontal axis is calculated using a triple product of the momentum vectors of the halogen ions.The S enantiomer is at the left of the histogram. The diagram illustrates its associated angle data. The R enantiomer is at the right of the histogram along with a diagram to illustrate its angle.The laser repetition rate was 100 kilohertz and the measurement took about 11 hours. This animation demonstrates how it is possible to use the recorded momentum vector data of the fragments to transform their random orientation in the jets into a molecular coordinate system. After watching this video, you should have an idea how Coulomb explosion imaging is performed using the COLTRIMS technique.Recording the momentum vectors of four or five fragments in coincidence allows a detailed view into the molecule. Extracting this information from the raw data however, requires a lot of effort in the analysis step. The secrets of life science in the world of molecules occurs on a time scale of a billionth of a billionth of a second and our method can reveal and visualize these fast dynamics.

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Unit 1

Transition Metals and Coordination Complexes

Stereoisomerism

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