Ultrafast 2D-IR Spectroscopy of transient species

Multidimensional spectroscopic experiments offer fascinating insights into molecular structure and dynamics in the field of NMR spectroscopy. With the introduction of ultrofast two-dimensional infrared spectroscopy (2D-IR), multidimensional concepts have entered the optical domain, measuring couplings and correlations between molecular vibrations with femtosecond time resolution. In the transient 2D-IR (T2D-IR) experiments described in this minireview we exploit the high time resolution of 2D-IR to study transient species during fast nonequilibrium processes in real time. Information on molecular structure and dynamics is obtained that is not available from one-dimensional spectroscopy. We discuss examples from chemistry, physics and biophysics.