A New Frontier in Chemistry: Roaming Reactions Shatter Old Assumptions

Scientists have observed so-called ‘roaming’ chemical reactions, those that at certain points move away from the lowest minimum energy ‘path of least resistance,’ in highly excited energy states for the first time.

Chemical reactions are supposed to occur along their minimum energy paths. In recent years, so-called roaming reactions that stray far from this path have begun to be observed, but only for chemical species in their ground state or, at most, their first excited state. However, researchers have now observed a roaming reaction even in highly excited energy states.