Quantum control of the photoinduced Wolff rearrangement of diazonaphthoquinone in the condensed phase

A shaped UV pump-MIR probe setup is employed for quantum control of the photoinduced Wolff rearrangement reaction of diazonaphthoquinone (DNQ) dissolved in methanol, yielding a ketene photoproduct. Time-resolved vibrational spectroscopy is a well-suited tool to monitor a photoreaction in the liquid phase as the narrow vibrational lines allow the observation of structural changes. Especially in the mid-infrared region, marker modes originating from different photoproducts can be identified unambiguously providing suitable feedback signals for open-loop or closed-loop control schemes. We report an experiment where the initiation of a complicated structural change of a molecule, involving bond cleavage and rearrangement, in the liquid phase can be controlled and mechanistic insight is obtained. Single-parameter scans show that the molecule is sensitive to intrapulse dumping during the excitation. Adaptive optimizations lead to pulse structures which can be understood consistently with this dumping mechanism.