Scientists have captured the movement of fast-moving hydrogen atoms, which play a crucial role in numerous biological and chemical reactions.
A team led by researchers at the Department of Energy’s SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and Stanford University utilized ultrafast electron diffraction (UED) to observe the motion of hydrogen atoms within ammonia molecules. While others had proposed the idea of tracking hydrogen atoms using electron diffraction, this experiment marks the first successful implementation.
The findings, published in Physical Review Letters, take advantage of the capabilities of high-energy Megaelectronvolt (MeV) electrons in studying hydrogen atoms and proton transfers. Proton transfers involve the movement of the singular proton that constitutes the nucleus of a hydrogen atom from one molecule to another.
Proton transfers are responsible for numerous reactions in biology and chemistry, such as those facilitated by enzymes and proton pumps found in mitochondria, the cell’s powerhouses. Understanding the structural changes that occur during these reactions would be highly beneficial. However, proton transfers occur extremely rapidly, within a few femtoseconds (one millionth of one billionth of one second), making it challenging to observe them in real-time.
One possible approach is to direct X-rays at a molecule and analyze the scattered X-rays to gain insights into the molecule’s evolving structure. Unfortunately, X-rays only interact with electrons and not atomic nuclei, limiting the sensitivity of this method.
2023-10-07 21:00:03
Post from phys.org