Imaging CF 3 I conical intersection and photodissociation dynamics with ultrafast electron diffraction

Motion picture of a conical intersection In most chemical reactions, electrons move earlier and faster than nuclei. It is therefore common to model reactions by using potential energy surfaces that depict nuclear motion in a particular electronic state. However, in certain cases, two such surfaces connect in a conical intersection that mingles ultrafast electronic and nuclear rearrangements. Yang et al. used electron diffraction to obtain time-resolved images of CF 3 I molecules traversing a conical intersection in the course of photolytic cleavage of the C–I bond (see the Perspective by Fielding). Science , this issue p. 64 ; see also p. 30