CONCERT wins an ERC Synergy Grant worth 10 million euros
Understanding how light can modify and even guide the behavior of molecules: this is the challenge at the heart of CONCERT (Capturing and cONtrolling coniCal intErsections in Real Time), winner of an ERC Synergy Grant worth 10 million euros.
The initiative brings together an international team of excellence, combining expertise in physics, chemistry, and laser technology. It includes Giulio Cerullo from Politecnico di Milano, Caterina Vozzi from the CNR Institute of Photonics and Nanotechnologies, Marco Garavelli from the University of Bologna, Shaul Mukamel from the University of California, and researchers from the ELETTRA Synchrotron in Trieste.
When light hits a molecule, it can trigger ultrafast chemical transformations occurring in just a few millionths of a billionth of a second. These processes, fundamental to phenomena such as vision, photosynthesis, and DNA protection from UV rays, still escape traditional observation techniques.
To unveil them, CONCERT will develop new laser instruments capable of generating ultrashort light pulses to capture a sequence of frames showing the molecular evolution. This will make it possible to build a true “molecular movie” and observe the so-called conical intersections, critical points where two energy states of a molecule meet and the rules of classical chemistry no longer apply.
Part of the experiments will take place at the FERMI free-electron laser of the ELETTRA Synchrotron in Trieste, where ultrafast X-ray pulses will allow scientists to observe molecular changes in real time.
The next step will be not only to observe, but also to control photochemical reactions. CONCERT aims to design custom laser pulses to act at the precise moment when the molecule crosses the conical intersection, steering the outcome of the reaction.
The success of CONCERT will open a new window onto the deep nature of photochemical reactions and may lead to major advances in green chemistry and materials technology, enabling the clean and selective synthesis of new compounds.
So far, scientists have largely been spectators of these molecular movies. As we develop special ‘cameras’ to capture these events as they happen, our ultimate goal is to turn from passive observers into active directors.
Giulio Cerullo, Professor of the Department of Physics