Researchers from ETH Zurich and the University of Geneva have developed a new method that allows them to observe chemical reactions taking place in liquids at extremely high temporal resolution. This means they can examine how molecules change within just a few femtoseconds—in other words, within a few quadrillionths of a second. The method is based on earlier work done by the same group of researchers led by Hans Jakob Wörner, Professor of Physical Chemistry at ETH Zurich. That work yielded similar results for reactions that take place in gas environments.
To expand their X-ray spectroscopy observations to liquids, the researchers had to design an apparatus capable of producing a liquid jet with a diameter of less than one micrometer in a vacuum. This was essential because if the