Femtochemistry – With the Nobel Lecture of A. Zewail

For decades now, chemists have been dreaming of observing exactly what happens at the molecular level during a chemical reaction. The breakthrough came at the end of the 80s with the development of special spectrometers that use extremely short-pulsed laser light and so enable measurements in the femtosecond range. Since then, "femtochemistry" has made rapid progress, due to intensive collaboration between physical chemists, spectroscopists, photochemists and physicists. The first-class contributions collected here from top international femtochemists provide a comprehensive insight into this area of interdisciplinary research. The range extends from femtochemistry in nanohollows to the investigation of the dynamics of biological reactions in the femtosecond range, from ab initio approaches to quantum chemical reaction controls to two-dimensional, nonlinear optical spectroscopy in liquids. This overview of the current level of research is rounded off with A. Zewail's Nobel prizewinning lecture. The vast amount of information and numerous references make this not only an ideal introduction to the research, but also recommended reading for everyone concerned with this hot topic.