Macromolecules and clusters articles within Nature Communications

Featured

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Understanding the interaction of single chromophores with nanoparticles remains a challenging task in nanoscience. Here the authors provide insight into the interaction between isolated base-free phthalocyanine molecules and He and Ne nanoclusters in the gas phase using high-resolution two-dimensional spectroscopy.

    • Ulrich Bangert
    • , Frank Stienkemeier
    •  & Lukas Bruder

  • Article
    | Open Access

    There is interest in understanding the relaxation mechanisms of photoexcitation in atoms, molecules and other complex systems. Here the authors unravel the photoexcitation and ultrafast relaxation of superfluid helium nanodroplets using a pump-probe experiment with FEL pulses.

    • M. Mudrich
    • , A. C. LaForge
    •  & F. Stienkemeier

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Strong molecular alignment without a laser field present is important for fundamental experiments in molecular science, but so far this has not been obtained for complex molecules. Here the authors use a shaped laser pulse to demonstrate field-free alignment of complex molecules in helium droplets.

    • Adam S. Chatterley
    • , Constant Schouder
    •  & Henrik Stapelfeldt

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Interatomic or intermolecular Coulombic decay is responsible for the generation of slow electrons in clusters and biological samples. Here the authors use electron–electron coincidence detection to find the competitive roles of proton transfer and ICD that occur on similar time scales in water clusters.

    • Clemens Richter
    • , Daniel Hollas
    •  & Uwe Hergenhahn

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Interatomic Coulombic Decay is a non-radiative relaxation process between excited systems. Here the authors report a theoretical framework based on macroscopic quantum electrodynamics that shows the role of retardation and an environment in the enhancement or suppression of the ICD rate.

    • Joshua Leo Hemmerich
    • , Robert Bennett
    •  & Stefan Yoshi Buhmann

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Metallic clusters with an excess electron beyond a closed shell have very low ionization energies, in analogy to alkali atoms. Here, the authors use select ligands to lower the ionization energy of metallic clusters without changing the number of valence electrons, introducing a route to alkali-like superatoms that is independent of the final shell occupancy.

    • Vikas Chauhan
    • , Arthur C. Reber
    •  & Shiv N. Khanna

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Isomerization is a basic process in nature, with implications for chemical reactivity including in space. Here, the authors observe ultraslow isomerization in an isolated gas-phase carbon chain to its cyclic isomer lasting up to hundreds of microseconds, which may impact the creation of larger carbons in the interstellar medium.

    • K. Saha
    • , V. Chandrasekaran
    •  & D. Zajfman

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Accelerating electrons to high energy and controlling their properties on ultrafast timescales is challenging. Here the authors show controlled acceleration of electron bunches using forward scattering in the resonantly enhanced polarization field of silver clusters driven by a phase-tuned two-color laser field.

    • Johannes Passig
    • , Sergey Zherebtsov
    •  & Thomas Fennel

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Forcing a DNA molecule into a nanoscale channel requires overcoming the free energy barrier associated with confinement. Here, the authors show that DNA injected through a funnel-shaped entrance more efficiently enters the nanochannel, thanks to facilitating forces generated by the nanofunnel geometry.

    • Jinsheng Zhou
    • , Yanqian Wang
    •  & J. Michael Ramsey

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The signal detected in magnetic resonance imaging comes from the relaxation of proton nuclear magnetization. Here, Zhouet al. introduce magnetic field inhomogeneity as a parameter to design iron oxide nanoparticle clusters to enhance the relaxation rate of nearby protons, thereby increasing image contrast.

    • Zijian Zhou
    • , Rui Tian
    •  & Xiaoyuan Chen

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Interatomic Coulombic decay (ICD) is a relaxation of an atom in a weakly bound environment by the transfer of excess energy to ionize the neighbouring atom. Here the authors observe intra-Rydberg ICD in neon clusters, which is a decay that involves the ionization of Rydberg atoms in the cluster.

    • K. Nagaya
    • , D. Iablonskyi
    •  & K. Ueda

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Transition state theory has proven to be a powerful tool for the analysis of a number of processes, perhaps most commonly chemical reactions. Here, the authors use transition state theory to model a directly observable, micron scale process—the transport of DNA molecules in a confined environment.

    • Christian L. Vestergaard
    • , Morten Bo Mikkelsen
    •  & Henrik Flyvbjerg

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