Based on the visionary experiments in femtochemistry and ultrafast electron diffraction many details of the elementary steps of chemical reactions could be unraveled [1]. However, thermal averaging over different molecular species and the isotropic directionality of molecules, even in cold molecular beams, limits the information that can be extracted from such experiments.<br/>Here, I will report on our endeavors to unravel the molecular structures and chemical dynamics of well-defined single molecular species and directly in the molecular frame. These experiments rely on the preparation of individual molecular-species samples [2] and the alignment and orientation of complex molecules in space [3].<br/>These samples are well suited for high-information content diffractive imaging [4] and as time permits I will briefly comment on different approaches such as x-ray diffraction using x-ray free-electron lasers, ultrafast electron diffraction, and photo-electron self-diffraction such as photoelectron holography or laser-induced electron diffraction.

Controlled molecules and chemical dynamics in the molecular frame

256th National Meeting (2018)

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