Coherent ultrafast lattice-directed reaction dynamics of triiodide anion photodissociation.

Solid-state reactions are influenced by the spatial arrangement of the reactants and the electrostatic environment of the lattice, which may enable lattice-directed chemical dynamics. Unlike the caging imposed by an inert matrix, an active lattice participates in the reaction, however, little evidence of such lattice participation has been gathered on ultrafast timescales due to the irreversibility of solid-state chemical systems. Here, by lowering the temperature to 80 K, we have been able to study the dissociative photochemistry of the triiodide anion (I