The researchers discover that spin reactions occur in a half-picosecond during a chemical reaction

Solar cells, quantum computing and photodynamic treatment of cancer. These all involve molecules switching between magnetic and non-magnetic forms. Previously, it was thought that this process, called "spin reversal", was proceeding slowly in most cases. Researchers at the University of Missouri discovered that spin reactions occurred in half a billionth of a second or half a picosecond during a chemical reaction. To understand how fast it is – watches count in seconds, sports games are timed in tenths of a second and light travels just under 12 inches in a billionth of a second. The reversals are faster.

"A typical molecule can have two modes, either magnetic or non-magnetic," said Arthur Suits, professor of chemistry at MU's department of chemistry. "They can go from one mode to another if they are" excited ", for example by absorbing light.Most of the molecules start out being non-magnetic, but if you excite it with light, they can rock and become a magnetic molecule, or vice versa. "

It is well known that the spin reversal of light-excited molecules is generally inefficient and therefore occurs very slowly. Chemical reactions in chemical reactions are possible, but few examples are known. Suits and his team at the University of Missouri investigated whether spin reactions could occur during a reaction by performing a scattering experiment in which clusters of molecules collided, creating a chemical reaction inside a vacuum chamber. They were surprised by what they discovered and formed a partnership with Spiridoula Matsika, Professor of Computer Theory at the Department of Chemistry at Temple University, to understand why the reversal occurs in half a billionth of a second much faster than expected.

"We have discovered that this magnetic to non-magnetic transition occurs after the chemical reaction, as molecules separate and products form," said Suits. "With this theory, we can understand and explain why this happens very effectively during this chemical reaction."

The researchers say that understanding this behavior is fundamental to many scientific areas such as more efficient solar cell manufacturing, quantum computing and photodynamic cancer therapy.