Physics Department, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA.
Phys Rev Lett. 2013 Jul 12;111(2):023008. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.111.023008.
We demonstrate chirality-induced three-wave mixing in the microwave regime, using rotational transitions in cold gas-phase samples of 1,2-propanediol and 1,3-butanediol. We show that bulk three-wave mixing, which can only be realized in a chiral environment, provides a sensitive, species-selective probe of enantiomeric excess and is applicable to a broad class of molecules. The doubly resonant condition provides simultaneous identification of species and of handedness, which should allow sensitive chiral analysis even within a complex mixture.
我们在微波波段展示了手性诱导的三波混频，使用的是冷气相 1,2-丙二醇和 1,3-丁二醇样品中的转动跃迁。我们表明，体三波混频（仅能在手性环境中实现）为对映体过量提供了一种灵敏、选择性的探测手段，适用于广泛的分子类别。双共振条件同时提供了物种和手性的识别，即使在复杂混合物中也应该能够实现灵敏的手性分析。
