Controlling Chemical Reactions with Laser Pulses

One of the holy grails of contemporary science is to understand and manipulate chemical reactions to obtain desired products preferentially. To achieve this goal, chemists traditionally choose the correct starting materials and reaction conditions, but it often lacks selectivity and efficiency. A promising alternative is to design laser control schemes and apply them to guide and control chemical reactions. This mini-review attempts to provide theoretical insight into the laser-induced control of chemical reactions by highlighting some recent achievements, discussing the present challenges, and shedding some light on future prospects.