1. |
- Zalden, Peter, et al.
(author)
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Femtosecond x-ray diffraction reveals a liquid–liquid phase transition in phase-change materials
- 2019
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In: Science. - Washington, DC : American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). - 0036-8075 .- 1095-9203. ; 364:6445, s. 1062-1067
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- In phase-change memory devices, a material is cycled between glassy and crystalline states. The highly temperature-dependent kinetics of its crystallization process enables application in memory technology, but the transition has not been resolved on an atomic scale. Using femtosecond x-ray diffraction and ab initio computer simulations, we determined the time-dependent pair-correlation function of phase-change materials throughout the melt-quenching and crystallization process. We found a liquid–liquid phase transition in the phase-change materials Ag4In3Sb67Te26 and Ge15Sb85 at 660 and 610 kelvin, respectively. The transition is predominantly caused by the onset of Peierls distortions, the amplitude of which correlates with an increase of the apparent activation energy of diffusivity. This reveals a relationship between atomic structure and kinetics, enabling a systematic optimization of the memory-switching kinetics.
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2. |
- Biasin, Elisa, et al.
(author)
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Femtosecond X-Ray Scattering Study of Ultrafast Photoinduced Structural Dynamics in Solvated[Co(terpy)2]2$
- 2016
-
In: Physical Review Letters. - : American Physical Society (APS). - 1079-7114 .- 0031-9007. ; 117:1
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We study the structural dynamics of photoexcited [Co(terpy)2]2+ in an aqueous solution with ultrafast x-ray diffuse scattering experiments conducted at the Linac Coherent Light Source. Through direct comparisons with density functional theory calculations, our analysis shows that the photoexcitation event leads to elongation of the Co-N bonds, followed by coherent Co-N bond length oscillations arising from the impulsive excitation of a vibrational mode dominated by the symmetrical stretch of all six Co-N bonds. This mode has a period of 0.33 ps and decays on a subpicosecond time scale. We find that the equilibrium bond-elongated structure of the high spin state is established on a single-picosecond time scale and that this state has a lifetime of ∼7 ps.
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3. |
- Canton, Sophie, et al.
(author)
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Toward Highlighting the Ultrafast Electron Transfer Dynamics at the Optically Dark Sites of Photocatalysts
- 2013
-
In: The Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters. - : American Chemical Society (ACS). - 1948-7185. ; 4:11, s. 1972-1976
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Building a detailed understanding of the structure function relationship is a crucial step in the optimization of molecular photocatalysts employed in water splitting schemes. The optically dark nature of their active sites usually prevents a complete mapping of the photoinduced dynamics. In this work, transient X-ray absorption spectroscopy highlights the electronic and geometric changes that affect such a center in a bimetallic model complex. Upon selective excitation of the ruthenium chromophore, the cobalt moiety is reduced through intramolecular electron transfer and undergoes a spin flip accompanied by an average bond elongation of 0.20 +/- 0.03 angstrom. The analysis is supported by simulations based on density functional theory structures (B3LYP*/TZVP) and FEFF 9.0 multiple scattering calculations. More generally, these results exemplify the large potential of the technique for tracking elusive intermediates that impart unique functionalities in photochemical devices.
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4. |
- Daranciang, Dan, et al.
(author)
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Ultrafast Photovoltaic Response in Ferroelectric Nanolayers
- 2012
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In: Physical Review Letters. - 1079-7114. ; 108:8
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We show that light drives large-amplitude structural changes in thin films of the prototypical ferroelectric PbTiO3 via direct coupling to its intrinsic photovoltaic response. Using time-resolved x-ray scattering to visualize atomic displacements on femtosecond time scales, photoinduced changes in the unit-cell tetragonality are observed. These are driven by the motion of photogenerated free charges within the ferroelectric and can be simply explained by a model including both shift and screening currents, associated with the displacement of electrons first antiparallel to and then parallel to the ferroelectric polarization direction.
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5. |
- Esmaeildoost, Niloofar, et al.
(author)
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Anomalous temperature dependence of the experimental x-ray structure factor of supercooled water
- 2021
-
In: Journal of Chemical Physics. - : AIP Publishing. - 0021-9606 .- 1089-7690. ; 155:21, s. 214501-214501
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The structural changes of water upon deep supercooling were studied through wide-angle x-ray scattering at SwissFEL. The experimental setup had a momentum transfer range of 4.5 Å-1, which covered the principal doublet of the x-ray structure factor of water. The oxygen-oxygen structure factor was obtained for temperatures down to 228.5 ± 0.6 K. Similar to previous studies, the second diffraction peak increased strongly in amplitude as the structural change accelerated toward a local tetrahedral structure upon deep supercooling. We also observed an anomalous trend for the second peak position of the oxygen-oxygen structure factor (q2). We found that q2 exhibits an unprecedented positive partial derivative with respect to temperature for temperatures below 236 K. Based on Fourier inversion of our experimental data combined with reference data, we propose that the anomalous q2 shift originates from that a repeat spacing in the tetrahedral network, associated with all peaks in the oxygen-oxygen pair-correlation function, gives rise to a less dense local ordering that resembles that of low-density amorphous ice. The findings are consistent with that liquid water consists of a pentamer-based hydrogen-bonded network with low density upon deep supercooling.
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6. |
- Fuller, Franklin D, et al.
(author)
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Drop-on-demand sample delivery for studying biocatalysts in action at X-ray free-electron lasers
- 2017
-
In: Nature Methods. - : Macmillan Publishers Ltd.. - 1548-7091 .- 1548-7105. ; 14, s. 443-449
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- X-ray crystallography at X-ray free-electron laser sources is a powerful method for studying macromolecules at biologically relevant temperatures. Moreover, when combined with complementary techniques like X-ray emission spectroscopy, both global structures and chemical properties of metalloenzymes can be obtained concurrently, providing insights into the interplay between the protein structure and dynamics and the chemistry at an active site. The implementation of such a multimodal approach can be compromised by conflicting requirements to optimize each individual method. In particular, the method used for sample delivery greatly affects the data quality. We present here a robust way of delivering controlled sample amounts on demand using acoustic droplet ejection coupled with a conveyor belt drive that is optimized for crystallography and spectroscopy measurements of photochemical and chemical reactions over a wide range of time scales. Studies with photosystem II, the phytochrome photoreceptor, and ribonucleotide reductase R2 illustrate the power and versatility of this method.
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7. |
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8. |
- Giorgianni, Flavio, et al.
(author)
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Melting of magnetic order in NaOsO3 by femtosecond laser pulses
- 2022
-
In: Physical Review B. - : American Physical Society. - 2469-9950 .- 2469-9969. ; 105:15
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- NaOsO3 has recently attracted significant attention for the strong coupling between its electronic band structure and magnetic ordering. Here, we used time-resolved magnetic x-ray diffraction to determine the timescale of the photoinduced antiferromagnetic dynamics in NaOsO3. Our measurements are consistent with a sub-100 fs melting of the antiferromagnetic long-range order that occurs significantly faster than the lattice dynamics as monitored by the transient change in intensity of selected Bragg structural reflections, which instead show a decrease of intensity on a timescale of several ps.
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9. |
- Haldrup, Kristoffer, et al.
(author)
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Ultrafast X-Ray Scattering Measurements of Coherent Structural Dynamics on the Ground-State Potential Energy Surface of a Diplatinum Molecule
- 2019
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In: Physical Review Letters. - 0031-9007. ; 122:6
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We report x-ray free electron laser experiments addressing ground-state structural dynamics of the diplatinum anion Pt2POP4 following photoexcitation. The structural dynamics are tracked with <100 fs time resolution by x-ray scattering, utilizing the anisotropic component to suppress contributions from the bulk solvent. The x-ray data exhibit a strong oscillatory component with period 0.28 ps and decay time 2.2 ps, and structural analysis of the difference signal directly shows this as arising from ground-state dynamics along the PtPt coordinate. These results are compared with multiscale Born-Oppenheimer molecular dynamics simulations and demonstrate how off-resonance excitation can be used to prepare a vibrationally cold excited-state population complemented by a structure-dependent depletion of the ground-state population which subsequently evolves in time, allowing direct tracking of ground-state structural dynamics.
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10. |
- Keable, Stephen M., et al.
(author)
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Room temperature XFEL crystallography reveals asymmetry in the vicinity of the two phylloquinones in photosystem I
- 2021
-
In: Scientific Reports. - : Nature Publishing Group. - 2045-2322. ; 11:1
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Photosystem I (PS I) has a symmetric structure with two highly similar branches of pigments at the center that are involved in electron transfer, but shows very different efficiency along the two branches. We have determined the structure of cyanobacterial PS I at room temperature (RT) using femtosecond X-ray pulses from an X-ray free electron laser (XFEL) that shows a clear expansion of the entire protein complex in the direction of the membrane plane, when compared to previous cryogenic structures. This trend was observed by complementary datasets taken at multiple XFEL beamlines. In the RT structure of PS I, we also observe conformational differences between the two branches in the reaction center around the secondary electron acceptors A1A and A1B. The π-stacked Phe residues are rotated with a more parallel orientation in the A-branch and an almost perpendicular confirmation in the B-branch, and the symmetry breaking PsaB-Trp673 is tilted and further away from A1A. These changes increase the asymmetry between the branches and may provide insights into the preferential directionality of electron transfer.
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11. |
- Kjær, Kasper S., et al.
(author)
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Finding intersections between electronic excited state potential energy surfaces with simultaneous ultrafast X-ray scattering and spectroscopy
- 2019
-
In: Chemical Science. - : Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC). - 2041-6520 .- 2041-6539. ; 10:22, s. 5749-5760
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Light-driven molecular reactions are dictated by the excited state potential energy landscape, depending critically on the location of conical intersections and intersystem crossing points between potential surfaces where non-adiabatic effects govern transition probabilities between distinct electronic states. While ultrafast studies have provided significant insight into electronic excited state reaction dynamics, experimental approaches for identifying and characterizing intersections and seams between electronic states remain highly system dependent. Here we show that for 3d transition metal systems simultaneously recorded X-ray diffuse scattering and X-ray emission spectroscopy at sub-70 femtosecond time-resolution provide a solid experimental foundation for determining the mechanistic details of excited state reactions. In modeling the mechanistic information retrieved from such experiments, it becomes possible to identify the dominant trajectory followed during the excited state cascade and to determine the relevant loci of intersections between states. We illustrate our approach by explicitly mapping parts of the potential energy landscape dictating the light driven low-to-high spin-state transition (spin crossover) of [Fe(2,2′-bipyridine)3]2+, where the strongly coupled nuclear and electronic dynamics have been a source of interest and controversy. We anticipate that simultaneous X-ray diffuse scattering and X-ray emission spectroscopy will provide a valuable approach for mapping the reactive trajectories of light-triggered molecular systems involving 3d transition metals.
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12. |
- Kjær, Kasper S., et al.
(author)
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Ligand manipulation of charge transfer excited state relaxation and spin crossover in [Fe(2,2'-bipyridine)2(CN)2]
- 2017
-
In: Structural Dynamics. - : AIP Publishing. - 2329-7778. ; 4:4
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We have used femtosecond resolution UV-visible and Kβ x-ray emission spectroscopy to characterize the electronic excited state dynamics of [Fe(bpy)2(CN)2], where bpy=2,20-bipyridine, initiated by metal-to-ligand charge transfer (MLCT) excitation. The excited-state absorption in the transient UV-visible spectra, associated with the 2,20-bipyridine radical anion, provides a robust marker for the MLCT excited state, while the transient Kβ x-ray emission spectra provide a clear measure of intermediate and high spin metal-centered excited states. From these measurements, we conclude that the MLCT state of [Fe(bpy)2(CN)2] undergoes ultrafast spin crossover to a metalcentered quintet excited state through a short lived metal-centered triplet transient species. These measurements of [Fe(bpy)2(CN)2] complement prior measurement performed on [Fe(bpy)3]2+ and [Fe(bpy)(CN)4]2- in dimethylsulfoxide solution and help complete the chemical series [Fe(bpy)N(CN)6-2N]2N-4, whereN=1-3. The measurements confirm that simple ligand modifications can significantly change the relaxation pathways and excited state lifetimes and support the further investigation of light harvesting and photocatalytic applications of 3d transition metal complexes.
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13. |
- Kjær, Kasper S., et al.
(author)
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Solvent control of charge transfer excited state relaxation pathways in [Fe(2,2′-bipyridine)(CN)4]2-
- 2018
-
In: Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics. - : Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC). - 1463-9076 .- 1463-9084. ; 20:6, s. 4238-4249
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The excited state dynamics of solvated [Fe(bpy)(CN)4]2-, where bpy = 2,2′-bipyridine, show significant sensitivity to the solvent Lewis acidity. Using a combination of optical absorption and X-ray emission transient spectroscopies, we have previously shown that the metal to ligand charge transfer (MLCT) excited state of [Fe(bpy)(CN)4]2- has a 19 picosecond lifetime and no discernable contribution from metal centered (MC) states in weak Lewis acid solvents, such as dimethyl sulfoxide and acetonitrile.1,2 In the present work, we use the same combination of spectroscopic techniques to measure the MLCT excited state relaxation dynamics of [Fe(bpy)(CN)4]2- in water, a strong Lewis acid solvent. The charge-transfer excited state is now found to decay in less than 100 femtoseconds, forming a quasi-stable metal centered excited state with a 13 picosecond lifetime. We find that this MC excited state has triplet (3MC) character, unlike other reported six-coordinate Fe(ii)-centered coordination compounds, which form MC quintet (5MC) states. The solvent dependent changes in excited state non-radiative relaxation for [Fe(bpy)(CN)4]2- allows us to infer the influence of the solvent on the electronic structure of the complex. Furthermore, the robust characterization of the dynamics and optical spectral signatures of the isolated 3MC intermediate provides a strong foundation for identifying 3MC intermediates in the electronic excited state relaxation mechanisms of similar Fe-centered systems being developed for solar applications.
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14. |
- Kunnus, Kristjan, et al.
(author)
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Vibrational wavepacket dynamics in Fe carbene photosensitizer determined with femtosecond X-ray emission and scattering
- 2020
-
In: Nature Communications. - : Springer Nature. - 2041-1723. ; 11:1
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The non-equilibrium dynamics of electrons and nuclei govern the function of photoactive materials. Disentangling these dynamics remains a critical goal for understanding photoactive materials. Here we investigate the photoinduced dynamics of the [Fe(bmip)2]2+ photosensitizer, where bmip = 2,6-bis(3-methyl-imidazole-1-ylidine)-pyridine, with simultaneous femtosecond-resolution Fe Kα and Kβ X-ray emission spectroscopy (XES) and X-ray solution scattering (XSS). This measurement shows temporal oscillations in the XES and XSS difference signals with the same 278 fs period oscillation. These oscillations originate from an Fe-ligand stretching vibrational wavepacket on a triplet metal-centered (3MC) excited state surface. This 3MC state is populated with a 110 fs time constant by 40% of the excited molecules while the rest relax to a 3MLCT excited state. The sensitivity of the Kα XES to molecular structure results from a 0.7% average Fe-ligand bond length shift between the 1 s and 2p core-ionized states surfaces.
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15. |
- Lemke, Henrik T., et al.
(author)
-
Coherent structural trapping through wave packet dispersion during photoinduced spin state switching
- 2017
-
In: Nature Communications. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2041-1723. ; 8
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The description of ultrafast nonadiabatic chemical dynamics during molecular photo-transformations remains challenging because electronic and nuclear configurations impact each other and cannot be treated independently. Here we gain experimental insights, beyond the Born-Oppenheimer approximation, into the light-induced spin-state trapping dynamics of the prototypical [Fe(bpy) 3 ] 2+ compound by time-resolved X-ray absorption spectroscopy at sub-30-femtosecond resolution and high signal-to-noise ratio. The electronic decay from the initial optically excited electronic state towards the high spin state is distinguished from the structural trapping dynamics, which launches a coherent oscillating wave packet (265 fs period), clearly identified as molecular breathing. Throughout the structural trapping, the dispersion of the wave packet along the reaction coordinate reveals details of intramolecular vibronic coupling before a slower vibrational energy dissipation to the solution environment. These findings illustrate how modern time-resolved X-ray absorption spectroscopy can provide key information to unravel dynamic details of photo-functional molecules.
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16. |
- Pathak, Harshad, et al.
(author)
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Enhancement and maximum in the isobaric specific-heat capacity measurements of deeply supercooled water using ultrafast calorimetry
- 2021
-
In: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. - : Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. - 0027-8424 .- 1091-6490. ; 118:6
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Knowledge of the temperature dependence of the isobaric specific heat (Cp) upon deep supercooling can give insights regarding the anomalous properties of water. If a maximum in Cp exists at a specific temperature, as in the isothermal compressibility, it would further validate the liquid–liquid critical point model that can explain the anomalous increase in thermodynamic response functions. The challenge is that the relevant temperature range falls in the region where ice crystallization becomes rapid, which has previously excluded experiments. Here, we have utilized a methodology of ultrafast calorimetry by determining the temperature jump from femtosecond X-ray pulses after heating with an infrared laser pulse and with a sufficiently long time delay between the pulses to allow measurements at constant pressure. Evaporative cooling of ∼15-µm diameter droplets in vacuum enabled us to reach a temperature down to ∼228 K with a small fraction of the droplets remaining unfrozen. We observed a sharp increase in Cp, from 88 J/mol/K at 244 K to about 218 J/mol/K at 229 K where a maximum is seen. The Cp maximum is at a similar temperature as the maxima of the isothermal compressibility and correlation length. From the Cp measurement, we estimated the excess entropy and self-diffusion coefficient of water and these properties decrease rapidly below 235 K.
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17. |
- Tatsuno, Hideyuki, et al.
(author)
-
Hot Branching Dynamics in a Light-Harvesting Iron Carbene Complex Revealed by Ultrafast X-ray Emission Spectroscopy
- 2020
-
In: Angewandte Chemie - International Edition. - : Wiley. - 1433-7851 .- 1521-3773. ; 59:1, s. 364-372
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Iron N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) complexes have received a great deal of attention recently because of their growing potential as light sensitizers or photocatalysts. We present a sub-ps X-ray spectroscopy study of an FeIINHC complex that identifies and quantifies the states involved in the deactivation cascade after light absorption. Excited molecules relax back to the ground state along two pathways: After population of a hot 3MLCT state, from the initially excited 1MLCT state, 30 % of the molecules undergo ultrafast (150 fs) relaxation to the 3MC state, in competition with vibrational relaxation and cooling to the relaxed 3MLCT state. The relaxed 3MLCT state then decays much more slowly (7.6 ps) to the 3MC state. The 3MC state is rapidly (2.2 ps) deactivated to the ground state. The 5MC state is not involved in the deactivation pathway. The ultrafast partial deactivation of the 3MLCT state constitutes a loss channel from the point of view of photochemical efficiency and highlights the necessity to screen transition-metal complexes for similar ultrafast decays to optimize photochemical performance.
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18. |
- Van Driel, Tim B., et al.
(author)
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Atomistic characterization of the active-site solvation dynamics of a model photocatalyst
- 2016
-
In: Nature Communications. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2041-1723. ; 7
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The interactions between the reactive excited state of molecular photocatalysts and surrounding solvent dictate reaction mechanisms and pathways, but are not readily accessible to conventional optical spectroscopic techniques. Here we report an investigation of the structural and solvation dynamics following excitation of a model photocatalytic molecular system [Ir 2 (dimen) 4 ] 2+, where dimen is para-diisocyanomenthane. The time-dependent structural changes in this model photocatalyst, as well as the changes in the solvation shell structure, have been measured with ultrafast diffuse X-ray scattering and simulated with Born-Oppenheimer Molecular Dynamics. Both methods provide direct access to the solute-solvent pair distribution function, enabling the solvation dynamics around the catalytically active iridium sites to be robustly characterized. Our results provide evidence for the coordination of the iridium atoms by the acetonitrile solvent and demonstrate the viability of using diffuse X-ray scattering at free-electron laser sources for studying the dynamics of photocatalysis.
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19. |
- van Driel, Tim Brandt, et al.
(author)
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Disentangling detector data in XFEL studies of temporally resolved solution state chemistry
- 2015
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In: Faraday Discussions. - : Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC). - 1364-5498 .- 1359-6640. ; 177, s. 443-465
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- With the arrival of X-ray Free Electron Lasers (XFELs), 2D area detectors with a large dynamic range for detection of hard X-rays with fast readout rates are required for many types of experiments. Extracting the desired information from these detectors has been challenging due to unpredicted fluctuations in the measured images. For techniques such as time-resolved X-ray Diffuse Scattering (XDS), small differences in signal intensity are the starting point for analysis. Fluctuations in the total detected signal remain in the differences under investigation, obfuscating the signal. To correct such artefacts, Singular Value Decomposition (SVD) can be used to identify and characterize the observed detector fluctuations and assist in assigning some of them to variations in physical parameters such as X-ray energy and X-ray intensity. This paper presents a methodology for robustly identifying, separating and correcting fluctuations on area detectors based on XFEL beam characteristics, to enable the study of temporally resolved solution state chemistry on the femtosecond timescale.
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20. |
- Vanko, Gyoergy, et al.
(author)
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Detailed Characterization of a Nanosecond-Lived Excited State: X-ray and Theoretical Investigation of the Quintet State in Photoexcited [Fe(terpy)(2)](2+)
- 2015
-
In: Journal of Physical Chemistry C. - : American Chemical Society (ACS). - 1932-7447 .- 1932-7455. ; 119:11, s. 5888-5902
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Theoretical predictions show that depending on the populations of the Fe 3d(xy), 3d(xz), and 3d(yz) orbitals two possible quintet states can exist for the high-spin state of the photoswitchable model system [Fe(terpy)(2)](2+). The differences in the structure and molecular properties of these B-5(2) and E-5 quintets are very small and pose a substantial challenge for experiments to resolve them. Yet for a better understanding of the physics of this system, which can lead to the design of novel molecules with enhanced photoswitching performance, it is vital to determine which high-spin state is reached in the transitions that follow the light excitation. The quintet state can be prepared with a short laser pulse and can be studied with cutting-edge time-resolved X-ray techniques. Here we report on the application of an extended set of X-ray spectroscopy and scattering techniques applied to investigate the quintet state of [Fe(terpy)(2)](2+) 80 ps after light excitation. High-quality X-ray absorption, nonresonant emission, and resonant emission spectra as well as X-ray diffuse scattering data clearly reflect the formation of the high-spin state of the [Fe(terpy)(2)](2+) molecule; moreover, extended X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy resolves the Fe-ligand bond-length variations with unprecedented bond-length accuracy in time-resolved experiments. With ab initio calculations we determine why, in contrast to most related systems, one configurational mode is insufficient for the description of the low-spin (LS)-high-spin (HS) transition. We identify the electronic structure origin of the differences between the two possible quintet modes, and finally, we unambiguously identify the formed quintet state as 5E, in agreement with our theoretical expectations.
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21. |
- Vanko, Gyoergy, et al.
(author)
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Spin-state studies with XES and RIXS: From static to ultrafast
- 2013
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In: Journal of Electron Spectroscopy and Related Phenomena. - : Elsevier BV. - 0368-2048. ; 188, s. 166-171
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We report on extending hard X-ray emission spectroscopy (XES) along with resonant inelastic X-ray scattering (RIXS) to study ultrafast phenomena in a pump-probe scheme at MHz repetition rates. The investigated systems include low-spin (LS) Fe-II complex compounds, where optical pulses induce a spin-state transition to their (sub)nanosecond-lived high-spin (HS) state. Time-resolved XES clearly reflects the spin-state variations with very high signal-to-noise ratio, in agreement with HS-LS difference spectra measured at thermal spin crossover, and reference HS-LS systems in static experiments, next to multiplet calculations. The 1s2p RIXS, measured at the Fe Is pre-edge region, shows variations after laser excitation, which are consistent with the formation of the HS state. Our results demonstrate that X-ray spectroscopy experiments with overall rather weak signals, such as RIXS, can now be reliably exploited to study chemical and physical transformations on ultrafast time scales. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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22. |
- Zhang, Wenkai, et al.
(author)
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Manipulating charge transfer excited state relaxation and spin crossover in iron coordination complexes with ligand substitution
- 2016
-
In: Chemical Science. - 2041-6520. ; 8:1, s. 515-523
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Developing light-harvesting and photocatalytic molecules made with iron could provide a cost effective, scalable, and environmentally benign path for solar energy conversion. To date these developments have been limited by the sub-picosecond metal-to-ligand charge transfer (MLCT) electronic excited state lifetime of iron based complexes due to spin crossover-the extremely fast intersystem crossing and internal conversion to high spin metal-centered excited states. We revitalize a 30 year old synthetic strategy for extending the MLCT excited state lifetimes of iron complexes by making mixed ligand iron complexes with four cyanide (CN-;) ligands and one 2,2′-bipyridine (bpy) ligand. This enables MLCT excited state and metal-centered excited state energies to be manipulated with partial independence and provides a path to suppressing spin crossover. We have combined X-ray Free-Electron Laser (XFEL) Kβ hard X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy with femtosecond time-resolved UV-visible absorption spectroscopy to characterize the electronic excited state dynamics initiated by MLCT excitation of [Fe(CN)4(bpy)]2-. The two experimental techniques are highly complementary; the time-resolved UV-visible measurement probes allowed electronic transitions between valence states making it sensitive to ligand-centered electronic states such as MLCT states, whereas the Kβ fluorescence spectroscopy provides a sensitive measure of changes in the Fe spin state characteristic of metal-centered excited states. We conclude that the MLCT excited state of [Fe(CN)4(bpy)]2- decays with roughly a 20 ps lifetime without undergoing spin crossover, exceeding the MLCT excited state lifetime of [Fe(2,2′-bipyridine)3]2+ by more than two orders of magnitude.
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