A tutorial review: probing molecular structure and dynamics with CEI and LIED

Abstract

Knowledge of the molecular structure is key to understanding the function of participating molecules in photo-induced chemical reactions. Visualizing the nuclear dynamics of a photochemical reaction requires an ultrafast measurement technique that can identify the location of atoms in molecules with atomic Ångstrom spatial resolution evolving on the nuclear (i.e. hundreds of femtosecond) timescale. Coulomb explosion imaging (CEI) and laser-induced electron diffraction (LIED) offer the required sub-Ångstrom spatial and tens of femtosecond temporal resolution to track in real-time changes in the molecular structure. In this tutorial review, details of the tools, analysis procedures, exemplary previous results and future perspectives of both CEI and LIED techniques are described.