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

Chirality at Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Sulfur02:30

Chirality at Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Sulfur

5.7K
Chirality is most prevalent in carbon-based tetrahedral compounds, but this important facet of molecular symmetry extends to sp3-hybridized nitrogen, phosphorus and sulfur centers, including trivalent molecules with lone pairs. Here, the lone pair behaves as a functional group in addition to the other three substituents to form an analogous tetrahedral center that can be chiral.
A consequence of chirality is the need for enantiomeric resolution. While this is theoretically possible for all...
5.7K
Molecules with Multiple Chiral Centers02:25

Molecules with Multiple Chiral Centers

11.5K
Molecules that possess multiple chiral centers can afford a large number of stereoisomers. For instance, while some molecules like 2-butanol have one chiral center, defined as a tetrahedral carbon atom with four different substituents attached, several molecules like butane-2,3-diol have multiple chiral centers. A simple formula to predict the number of stereoisomers possible for a molecule with n chiral centers is 2n. However, there can be a lower number where some of the stereoisomers are...
11.5K
¹H NMR Chemical Shift Equivalence: Enantiotopic and Diastereotopic Protons00:58

¹H NMR Chemical Shift Equivalence: Enantiotopic and Diastereotopic Protons

1.6K
Replacing each alpha-hydrogen in chloroethane by bromine (or a different functional group) yields a pair of enantiomers. Such protons are called prochiral or enantiotopic and are related by a mirror plane. Enantiotopic protons are chemically equivalent in an achiral environment. Because most proton NMR spectra are recorded using achiral solvents, enantiotopic hydrogens yield a single signal.
In chiral compounds such as 2-butanol, replacing the methylene hydrogens at C3 produces a pair of...
1.6K
Chirality02:25

Chirality

23.8K
Chirality is a term that describes the lack of mirror symmetry in an object. In other words, chiral objects cannot be superposed on their mirror images. For example, our feet are chiral, as the mirror image of the left foot, the right foot, cannot be superposed on the left foot.
Chiral objects exhibit a sense of handedness when they interact with another chiral object. For example, our left foot can only fit in the left shoe and not in the right shoe. Achiral objects — objects that have...
23.8K
Radicals: Electronic Structure and Geometry01:07

Radicals: Electronic Structure and Geometry

4.0K
This lesson delves into the geometry of a radical, which is influenced by the electronic structure of the molecule. The principle is similar to that of a lone pair, where the unpaired electron influences the geometry at the radical center.
Accordingly, the structure of a trivalent radical lies between the geometries of carbocations and carbanions. An sp2-hybridized carbocation is trigonal planar, while an sp3-hybridized carbanion is trigonal pyramidal. Here, the difference in geometry is...
4.0K
Prochirality02:05

Prochirality

3.8K
The concept of prochirality leads to the nomenclature of the individual faces of a molecule and plays a crucial role in the enantioselective reaction. It is a concept where two or more achiral molecules react to produce chiral products. A typical process is the reaction of an achiral ketone to generate a chiral alcohol. Here, the achiral reactant reacts with an achiral reducing agent, sodium borohydride, to generate an equimolar mixture of the chiral enantiomers of the product. For example, an...
3.8K

You might also read

Related Articles

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

Sort by
Same author

Roadmap for Quantum Nanophotonics with Free Electrons.

ACS photonics·2025
Same author

Canalized light creates directional and switchable surface structures in vanadium dioxide.

Nature communications·2025
Same author

Terahertz control and timing correlations in a transmission electron microscope.

Science advances·2024
Same author

Femtosecond electron beam probe of ultrafast electronics.

Nature communications·2024
Same author

Sub-picosecond collapse of molecular polaritons to pure molecular transition in plasmonic photoswitch-nanoantennas.

Nature communications·2023
Same author

Attosecond electron microscopy of sub-cycle optical dynamics.

Nature·2023

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 21, 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

9.1K

Structured electrons with chiral mass and charge.

Yiqi Fang1, Joel Kuttruff1, David Nabben1

  • 1Universität Konstanz, Fachbereich Physik, 78464 Konstanz, Germany.

Science (New York, N.Y.)
|July 11, 2024
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Researchers transformed free electrons into chiral coils using laser light. These engineered particles exhibit unique spatial and temporal shapes, with potential applications in quantum optics and microscopy.

More Related Videos

Vibrational Spectra of a N719-Chromophore/Titania Interface from Empirical-Potential Molecular-Dynamics Simulation, Solvated by a Room Temperature Ionic Liquid
08:54

Vibrational Spectra of a N719-Chromophore/Titania Interface from Empirical-Potential Molecular-Dynamics Simulation, Solvated by a Room Temperature Ionic Liquid

Published on: January 25, 2020

5.7K
Spatial Separation of Molecular Conformers and Clusters
10:37

Spatial Separation of Molecular Conformers and Clusters

Published on: January 9, 2014

8.9K

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jun 21, 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

9.1K
Vibrational Spectra of a N719-Chromophore/Titania Interface from Empirical-Potential Molecular-Dynamics Simulation, Solvated by a Room Temperature Ionic Liquid
08:54

Vibrational Spectra of a N719-Chromophore/Titania Interface from Empirical-Potential Molecular-Dynamics Simulation, Solvated by a Room Temperature Ionic Liquid

Published on: January 25, 2020

5.7K
Spatial Separation of Molecular Conformers and Clusters
10:37

Spatial Separation of Molecular Conformers and Clusters

Published on: January 9, 2014

8.9K

Area of Science:

  • Physics
  • Material Science
  • Chemistry
  • Optics
  • Spectroscopy

Background:

  • Chirality is a fundamental property with broad implications across scientific disciplines.
  • Understanding and controlling electron chirality is crucial for advanced applications.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To demonstrate the conversion of free electrons into chiral structures using laser fields.
  • To investigate the spatial and temporal characteristics of these laser-induced chiral electrons.

Main Methods:

  • Utilizing laser light cycles to induce chirality in free electrons.
  • Employing attosecond gating to measure wave function densities.
  • Analyzing the three-dimensional shape and pitch of electron coils.

Main Results:

  • Free electrons were successfully converted into right-handed or left-handed coils of mass and charge.
  • Electrons maintained a flat de Broglie wave while acquiring chirality from their spatio-temporal expectation value.
  • Attosecond measurements confirmed the three-dimensional helical structures of the electrons.

Conclusions:

  • Laser-induced electron chirality offers a novel method for engineering particle geometry.
  • These chiral electrons have potential applications in chiral sensing, quantum optics, and electron microscopy.