ULTRAFAST SPECTROSCOPY GROUP
Observation and Control of the Excited State Dynamics of Condensed Phase Molecules by Advanced Spectroscopy Using Ultrashort Optical Pulses
Korenobu Matsuzaki
Tracking the molecular dynamics from the electronic and structural viewpoints is essential for deep understanding of chemical reactions. To this end, we develop new ultrafast spectroscopic methods based on basic knowledge on the light-matter interaction and state-of-the-art laser technology. Using these advanced spectroscopy, we aim to observe, understand, and control new fundamental phenomena of reactive molecules.
Research outline
Elucidating the dynamics of chemical reactions is essential to achieving a deep understanding of the processes involved. With this idea in mind, we study the dynamics of photoexcited molecules via a variety of time-resolved spectroscopic methods utilizing ultrashort laser pulses. We develop new spectroscopic methods based on state-of-the-art laser technology and aim to observe, understand, and control new fundamental phenomena of reactive molecules. Especially for ultrafast reactions, it is key to observe and “visualize” the continuous motion of nuclei (structural change) throughout the reaction. Therefore, we study the “instantaneous” structures of the reacting molecules by advanced multi-pulse experiments, and try to determine the structure of the transition state that plays crucial roles in chemical reactions.
More recently, we have expanded our research to the development of novel spectroscopic methods using entangled photon pairs to realize spectroscopic measurements that are impossible with a laser.
Projects
Ultrashort pulse generation and multi-color time-resolved spectrometers
Observation of coherent nuclear motion in ultrafast photochemical reactions
Structural tracking of reacting molecules by femtosecond time-domain Raman spectroscopy
Ultrafast excited state dynamics of metal complexes
Development of novel spectroscopic methods using entangled photon pairs as a light source
Members
Korenobu Matsuzaki (group leader)
Garima Bhutani
Selected publications
- K. Matsuzaki; H. Kuramochi; T. Tahara
Electron confinement within a fluctuating “box” in liquid water
arXiv 2603.12537 (2026). - L. Liu; H. Kuramochi; M. Iwamura; K. Nozaki; T. Tahara
Localization of the Au–Au bond strength in the triplet excited state of the [Au(CN)2−] oligomers revealed by ultrafast time-domain Raman spectroscopy
Chem. Sci. 17, 2676-2684 (2026). - K. Hiramatsu; H. Kuramochi; S. Takeuchi; T.Tahara
Time-domain Raman optical activity spectroscopy
Optica 12, 1895-1903 (2025). - K. Matsuzaki; T. Tahara
Sub-shot-noise circular dichroism spectroscopy for the accelerated characterization of molecular chirality
ACS Photonics 11, 1376-1381 (2024). - H. Kuramochi; T. Tsutsumi; K. Saita; Z. Wei; M. Osawa; P. Kumar; L. Liu; S. Takeuchi; T. Taketsugu; T. Tahara
Ultrafast Raman observation of the perpendicular intermediate phantom state of stilbene photoisomerization
Nat. Chem. 16, 22-27 (2024). - P. Kumar; H. Kuramochi; S. Takeuchi; T. Tahara
Photoexcited plasmon-driven ultrafast dynamics of the adsorbate probed by femtosecond time-resolved surface-enhanced time-domain Raman spectroscopy
J. Phys. Chem. Lett. 14, 2845-2853 (2024). - K. Matsuzaki; T. Tahara
Superresolution concentration measurement realized by sub-shot-noise absorption spectroscopy
Nat. Commun. 13, 953 (2022).