Sensitive Chiral Analysis via Microwave Three-wave Mixing

Abstract

We demonstrate chirality-induced three-wave mixing in the microwave regime, using rotational transitions in cold gas-phase samples of 1,2-propanediol and 1,3-butanediol. We show that bulk three-wave mixing, which can only be realized in a chiral environment, provides a sensitive, species selective probe of enantiomeric excess and is applicable to a broad class of molecules. The doubly resonant condition provides simultaneous identification of species and of handedness, which should allow sensitive chiral analysis even within a complex mixture.