Anomalously Large Chiral Sensitivity in the Dissociative Electron Attachment of 10-Iodocamphor

Authors

J. M. Dreiling, University of Nebraska - Lincoln
F. W. Lewis, Northumbria UniversityFollow
J. D. Mills, Air Force Research Laboratory, Aerospace Systems Directorate
Timothy J. Gay, University of Nebraska - LincolnFollow

Date of this Version

2016

Citation

PRL 116, 093201 (2016)

Comments

© 2016 American Physical Society

Abstract

We have studied dissociative electron attachment (DEA) between low energy (≤ 0.6 eV) longitudinally polarized electrons and gas-phase chiral targets of 3-bromocamphor (C₁₀H₁₅BrO), 3-iodocamphor (C₁₀H₁₅IO), and 10-iodocamphor. The DEA rate depends on the sign of the incident electron helicity for a given target handedness, and it varies with both the atomic number (Z) and location of the heaviest atom in the molecule. While simple dynamic mechanisms can account for the asymmetry dependence on Z, they fail to explain the large asymmetry variation with the heavy atom location.