Control of chemical reactions in radiofrequency ion traps

Abstract

Over the past years, radiofrequency ion traps have become an attractive platform for studying chemical reactions as they enable a high degree of control over ion-molecule dynamics. In this review, we summarize techniques for the trapping and cooling of atomic and molecular ions in radiofrequency traps including Doppler and resolved-sideband laser cooling, sympathetic cooling, and cryogenic buffer-gas methods. We discuss strategies for controlling key reaction parameters: the preparation of specific internal quantum states by internal cooling, optical pumping, state-selective photoionization and quantum-logic spectroscopy; the manipulation of collision energies through micromotion control, dynamic trapping and combination with molecular beams; and the selection of molecular structure via isotopic substitution, conformational separation and isomer-specific ion generation. We illustrate applications of these approaches by discussing studies on quantum-state-dependent kinetics, quantum-resonance effects and structure-sensitive reactivity in ion-neutral collisions. We conclude by outlining future challenges, including full state-to-state reaction mapping, reaching the ultracold quantum regime free of micromotion, and the exploration of complex and chiral systems.