Controlling chemi-ionization of individual conformers

In this work, we study the chemi-ionization reaction of hydroquinone with metastable Ne atoms in a novel cross-beam experiment. Our results, supported by quantum chemistry and classical trajectory calculations, indicate that the collision-induced alignment due to the long-range dipole-induced dipole interaction influences reaction pathways for different conformers. However, this alignment is hindered by the rotation of the molecule. We demonstrate how the interplay between molecular geometry, chemical steering forces, and rotational dynamics govern the outcome of reactions and illustrate the capability of advanced molecule-control techniques to unravel these effects. We show detailed insights into how the complex interplay between molecular geometry, geometry-dependent intermolecular interactions, and molecular rotation influences the outcome of chemical processes.