Title: Conformer-selection by matter-wave interference,
Abstract: We establish that matter-wave interference at near-resonant ultraviolet
optical gratings can be used to spatially separate individual conformers of
complex molecules. Our calculations show that the conformational purity of the
prepared beam can be close to 100% and that all molecules remain in their
electronic ground state. The proposed technique is independent of the dipole
moment and the spin of the molecule and thus paves the way for
structure-sensitive experiments with hydrocarbons and biomolecules, such as
neurotransmitters and hormones, which evaded conformer-pure isolation so far