The pump pulse excites the reactants by delivering a burst of energy, often in the femtosecond to picosecond range. Following the pump pulse, a second pulse, known as the probe pulse, is used to monitor the progress of the reaction at various time intervals. By analyzing the changes in the system's properties after the pump pulse, researchers can gain insights into the fundamental steps of catalytic reactions, such as bond formation and breaking, electron transfer, and intermediate species formation.
