Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Concept Videos

¹H NMR of Conformationally Flexible Molecules: Temporal Resolution00:52

¹H NMR of Conformationally Flexible Molecules: Temporal Resolution

1.1K
At room temperature, the chair conformer of cyclohexane undergoes rapid ring flipping between two equivalent chair conformers at a rate of approximately 105 times per second. These two chair conformers are in equilibrium. The rapid ring flipping results in the interconversion of the axial proton to an equatorial proton and an equatorial to the axial proton. Such interconversions are too rapid and cannot be detected on the NMR timescale. Hence, the NMR spectrometer cannot distinguish between the...
1.1K
High-Resolution Mass Spectrometry (HRMS)01:15

High-Resolution Mass Spectrometry (HRMS)

2.1K
The resolution of a mass spectrometer depends on the efficiency of separating ions with different ion masses. The mass of an atom is approximated to the sum of the masses of protons and neutrons inside, considering the masses of protons and neutrons as equal. However, the masses of the proton (1.6726 × 10−24 g) and neutron (1.6749 × 10−24 g) are not truly equal. There is a minor error in the expression of atomic masses relative to the simplest atom of hydrogen. For...
2.1K
Chemical Ionization (CI) Mass Spectrometry01:21

Chemical Ionization (CI) Mass Spectrometry

1.2K
The molecular ion peak of a molecule in the mass spectrum provides vital information for molecular identification. However, conventional electron impact ionization can lead to the rapid dissociation of some molecular ions before they reach the detector. A milder ionization method is required to increase the lifetime of such ionized analyte molecules. Chemical ionization (CI) is a gas-phase protonation reaction useful for mass-analyzing analyte molecules that are easily protonated to yield the...
1.2K
Mass Spectrum: Interpretation01:24

Mass Spectrum: Interpretation

2.4K
An unknown compound can be established by identifying the molecular ion peak in the mass spectrum. The molecular ion peak is often weak or absent due to the predominance of fragmentation in high-energy electron beams. In such cases, a low-energy electron beam can be used to scan the spectrum to enhance the intensity of the molecular ion peak. Additionally, chemical ionization, field ionization, and desorption ionization spectra are used to obtain a relatively intense molecular ion peak.
To...
2.4K
¹³C NMR: Distortionless Enhancement by Polarization Transfer (DEPT)01:20

¹³C NMR: Distortionless Enhancement by Polarization Transfer (DEPT)

1.4K
When proton-coupled carbon-13 spectra are simplified by a broadband proton decoupling technique, structural information about the coupled protons is lost. Distortionless enhancement by polarization transfer (DEPT) is a technique that provides information on the number of hydrogens attached to each carbon in a molecule. While the DEPT experiment utilizes complex pulse sequences, the pulse delay and flip angle are specifically manipulated. The resulting signals have different phases depending on...
1.4K
Mass Spectrometry: Cycloalkane Fragmentation01:05

Mass Spectrometry: Cycloalkane Fragmentation

1.9K
In mass spectrometry, cycloalkanes exhibit distinct fragmentation patterns due to the inherent stability of their molecular ions compared to linear or branched alkanes. The ring structure of cycloalkanes provides additional stability to the molecular ions, often resulting in prominent ion peaks in the mass spectrum.
For example, cyclohexane molecular ions have a mass-to-charge ratio (m/z) of 84, which tends to produce a stronger signal than linear alkanes like hexane. This stability comes from...
1.9K

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Probing the structure of complex hydrocarbon molecules with X-ray-induced Coulomb explosion imaging.

Physical chemistry chemical physics : PCCP·2026
Same author

Time-resolved Coulomb explosion imaging of a photochemical ring opening reaction.

Nature communications·2026
Same author

Neural network based molecular structure retrieval from Coulomb explosion imaging data.

The Journal of chemical physics·2026
Same author

Air attenuation of high power XFEL beams.

Journal of synchrotron radiation·2026
Same author

Revealing ultrafast proton-transfer-mediated autoionization as a source of low-energy electrons in hydrogen-bonded systems.

Nature communications·2026
Same author

Spatial Mapping of Valence Excited-State Landscapes Using Time-Resolved Shake-Down Spectroscopy.

The journal of physical chemistry. A·2026

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Nov 29, 2025

Coulomb Explosion Imaging as a Tool to Distinguish Between Stereoisomers
08:51

Coulomb Explosion Imaging as a Tool to Distinguish Between Stereoisomers

Published on: August 18, 2017

10.7K

Differentiating and Quantifying Gas-Phase Conformational Isomers Using Coulomb Explosion Imaging.

Shashank Pathak1, Razib Obaid2, Surjendu Bhattacharyya1

  • 1J.R. Macdonald Laboratory, Department of Physics, Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kansas 66506, United States.

The Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters
|November 18, 2020
PubMed
Summary

This study uses fragment ion momentum to distinguish 1,2-dibromoethane conformational isomers. This novel Coulomb explosion imaging method quantifies isomer abundance, advancing molecular structure analysis.

More Related Videos

Spatial Separation of Molecular Conformers and Clusters
10:37

Spatial Separation of Molecular Conformers and Clusters

Published on: January 9, 2014

11.4K
Direct Imaging of Laser-driven Ultrafast Molecular Rotation
10:52

Direct Imaging of Laser-driven Ultrafast Molecular Rotation

Published on: February 4, 2017

10.0K

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Nov 29, 2025

Coulomb Explosion Imaging as a Tool to Distinguish Between Stereoisomers
08:51

Coulomb Explosion Imaging as a Tool to Distinguish Between Stereoisomers

Published on: August 18, 2017

10.7K
Spatial Separation of Molecular Conformers and Clusters
10:37

Spatial Separation of Molecular Conformers and Clusters

Published on: January 9, 2014

11.4K
Direct Imaging of Laser-driven Ultrafast Molecular Rotation
10:52

Direct Imaging of Laser-driven Ultrafast Molecular Rotation

Published on: February 4, 2017

10.0K

Area of Science:

  • Molecular Physics
  • Chemical Physics
  • Spectroscopy

Background:

  • Conformational isomerism influences molecular properties and biological activity.
  • Experimental differentiation of easily interconverting isomers is challenging due to low rotational energy barriers.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To develop and demonstrate a method for distinguishing and quantifying conformational isomers of 1,2-dibromoethane.
  • To utilize inner-shell photoionization and fragment ion momentum correlation for isomer differentiation.

Main Methods:

  • Inner-shell photoionization of 1,2-dibromoethane.
  • Momentum correlation analysis of fragment ions (C2H4+, Br+, Br+).
  • Coulomb explosion imaging to distinguish molecular geometries.

Main Results:

  • The three-body breakup channel reveals signatures of sequential and concerted dissociation.
  • These breakup pathways are decoupled to differentiate conformational isomers.
  • The method successfully quantifies the relative abundance of the isomers.
  • Temperature-dependent measurements validate the sensitivity and accuracy of the quantification.

Conclusions:

  • Momentum correlation of fragment ions is a viable method for distinguishing molecular conformational isomers.
  • Coulomb explosion imaging offers a powerful tool for analyzing subtle molecular structural changes.
  • This technique has potential applications in various fields requiring precise molecular structure determination.