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A 2018 study found that carefully timed femtosecond infrared laser pulses increased the rate of two specific solution-phase reactions by as much as 24%, while producing negligible sample heating. The result supports a way to influence selected chemical reactions by exciting molecular vibrations—not a claim that ordinary infrared light speeds up chemistry in general.
How can a laser change a chemical reaction without simply heating it?
Heating can speed reactions, but it may also affect competing pathways. The approach in this study was more selective: the researchers used femtosecond infrared (IR) pulses to excite vibrations associated with a reaction pathway. The goal was to influence reaction dynamics through vibrational excitation rather than raise the sample’s temperature.
The authors reported negligible sample heating alongside the rate increase. That distinction matters: the result was not merely that warmer chemicals reacted faster, but that selective vibrational excitation changed the measured rates in the systems they tested.
Which reactions did the researchers test?
Till Stensitzki and colleagues reported the work in “Acceleration of a ground-state reaction by selective femtosecond-infrared-laser-pulse excitation,” published in Nature Chemistry, volume 10, pages 126–131. The version of record appeared online on 1 January 2018. Read the article and abstract at Nature Chemistry.
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Using femtosecond IR-pump IR-probe experiments, the team studied two 1:1 mixtures:
- Phenylisocyanate with cyclohexanol, forming a urethane.
- Toluene-2,4-diisocyanate with 2,2,2-trichloroethane-1,1-diol, forming a polyurethane.
These were particular solution-phase reaction systems, not a broad survey of chemical reactions.
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What did the infrared pulses change?
Under selective vibrational excitation, the researchers reported reaction-rate increases of up to 24%. “Up to” is the key qualification: 24% was the maximum reported increase, not a result achieved by both reactions in every condition. The study does not establish that infrared exposure accelerates arbitrary reactions.
The proposed explanation is that excitation targeted vibrations connected to the reaction coordinate—the molecular motions relevant to progressing along a reaction pathway. A 2019 perspective on IR-driven ground-state chemistry likewise emphasizes the importance of selecting relevant vibrations and notes that solvent interactions and molecular conformations can matter. These considerations help explain why the effect is system-dependent; they do not establish broad applicability or commercial scale-up.
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What did the polyurethane square demonstrate?
The team also used a femtosecond IR pulse to write a polyurethane square on sample windows. This showed that the reaction effect could be used for patterned reaction control in a laboratory setup. It was a proof of concept, not evidence of an established manufacturing process.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What the result does—and does not—show
- It shows: Selective femtosecond IR excitation increased the measured rates of two studied solution reactions, with negligible sample heating reported.
- It does not show: That ordinary IR illumination speeds up chemistry in general, that all reactions respond the same way, or that the technique is ready for industrial production.
The findings appeared in the original Nature Chemistry article. A contemporaneous Chemistry World report quoted reaction-dynamics researcher Fleming Crim describing the observation amid background noise as striking.
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