@article{CoutoCruzErtanetal.2017, author = {Couto, Rafael C. and Cruz, Vinicius V. and Ertan, Emelie and Eckert, Sebastian and Fondell, Mattis and Dantz, Marcus and Kennedy, Brian and Schmitt, Thorsten and Pietzsch, Annette and Guimaraes, Freddy F. and Agren, Hans and Odelius, Michael and Kimberg, Victor and F{\"o}hlisch, Alexander}, title = {Selective gating to vibrational modes through resonant X-ray scattering}, series = {Nature Communications}, volume = {8}, journal = {Nature Communications}, publisher = {Nature Publ. Group}, address = {London}, issn = {2041-1723}, doi = {10.1038/ncomms14165}, pages = {7}, year = {2017}, abstract = {The dynamics of fragmentation and vibration of molecular systems with a large number of coupled degrees of freedom are key aspects for understanding chemical reactivity and properties. Here we present a resonant inelastic X-ray scattering (RIXS) study to show how it is possible to break down such a complex multidimensional problem into elementary components. Local multimode nuclear wave packets created by X-ray excitation to different core-excited potential energy surfaces (PESs) will act as spatial gates to selectively probe the particular ground-state vibrational modes and, hence, the PES along these modes. We demonstrate this principle by combining ultra-high resolution RIXS measurements for gas-phase water with state-of-the-art simulations.}, language = {en} } @article{EckertVazdaCruzErtanetal.2018, author = {Eckert, Sebastian and Vaz da Cruz, Vinicius and Ertan, Emelie and Ignatova, Nina and Polyutov, Sergey and Couto, Rafael C. and Fondell, Mattis and Dantz, Marcus and Kennedy, Brian and Schmitt, Thorsten and Pietzsch, Annette and Odelius, Michael and F{\"o}hlisch, Alexander}, title = {One-dimensional cuts through multidimensional potential-energy surfaces by tunable x rays}, series = {Physical review : A, Atomic, molecular, and optical physics}, volume = {97}, journal = {Physical review : A, Atomic, molecular, and optical physics}, number = {5}, publisher = {American Physical Society}, address = {College Park}, issn = {2469-9926}, doi = {10.1103/PhysRevA.97.053410}, pages = {7}, year = {2018}, abstract = {The concept of the potential-energy surface (PES) and directional reaction coordinates is the backbone of our description of chemical reaction mechanisms. Although the eigenenergies of the nuclear Hamiltonian uniquely link a PES to its spectrum, this information is in general experimentally inaccessible in large polyatomic systems. This is due to (near) degenerate rovibrational levels across the parameter space of all degrees of freedom, which effectively forms a pseudospectrum given by the centers of gravity of groups of close-lying vibrational levels. We show here that resonant inelastic x-ray scattering (RIXS) constitutes an ideal probe for revealing one-dimensional cuts through the ground-state PES of molecular systems, even far away from the equilibrium geometry, where the independent-mode picture is broken. We strictly link the center of gravity of close-lying vibrational peaks in RIXS to a pseudospectrum which is shown to coincide with the eigenvalues of an effective one-dimensional Hamiltonian along the propagation coordinate of the core-excited wave packet. This concept, combined with directional and site selectivity of the core-excited states, allows us to experimentally extract cuts through the ground-state PES along three complementary directions for the showcase H2O molecule.}, language = {en} } @article{ErtanSavchenkoIgnatovaetal.2018, author = {Ertan, Emelie and Savchenko, Viktoriia and Ignatova, Nina and Vaz da Cruz, Vinicius and Couto, Rafael C. and Eckert, Sebastian and Fondell, Mattis and Dantz, Marcus and Kennedy, Brian and Schmitt, Thorsten and Pietzsch, Annette and F{\"o}hlisch, Alexander and Odelius, Michael and Kimberg, Victor}, title = {Ultrafast dissociation features in RIXS spectra of the water molecule}, series = {Physical chemistry, chemical physics : a journal of European Chemical Societies}, volume = {20}, journal = {Physical chemistry, chemical physics : a journal of European Chemical Societies}, number = {21}, publisher = {Royal Society of Chemistry}, address = {Cambridge}, issn = {1463-9076}, doi = {10.1039/c8cp01807c}, pages = {14384 -- 14397}, year = {2018}, abstract = {In this combined theoretical and experimental study we report on an analysis of the resonant inelastic X-ray scattering (RIXS) spectra of gas phase water via the lowest dissociative core-excited state |1s-1O4a11〉. We focus on the spectral feature near the dissociation limit of the electronic ground state. We show that the narrow atomic-like peak consists of the overlapping contribution from the RIXS channels back to the ground state and to the first valence excited state |1b-114a11〉 of the molecule. The spectral feature has signatures of ultrafast dissociation (UFD) in the core-excited state, as we show by means of ab initio calculations and time-dependent nuclear wave packet simulations. We show that the electronically elastic RIXS channel gives substantial contribution to the atomic-like resonance due to the strong bond length dependence of the magnitude and orientation of the transition dipole moment. By studying the RIXS for an excitation energy scan over the core-excited state resonance, we can understand and single out the molecular and atomic-like contributions in the decay to the lowest valence-excited state. Our study is complemented by a theoretical discussion of RIXS in the case of isotopically substituted water (HDO and D2O) where the nuclear dynamics is significantly affected by the heavier fragments' mass.}, language = {en} } @article{JayNorellEckertetal.2018, author = {Jay, Raphael M. and Norell, Jesper and Eckert, Sebastian and Hantschmann, Markus and Beye, Martin and Kennedy, Brian and Quevedo, Wilson and Schlotter, William F. and Dakovski, Georgi L. and Minitti, Michael P. and Hoffmann, Matthias C. and Mitra, Ankush and Moeller, Stefan P. and Nordlund, Dennis and Zhang, Wenkai and Liang, Huiyang W. and Kunnus, Kristian and Kubicek, Katharina and Techert, Simone A. and Lundberg, Marcus and Wernet, Philippe and Gaffney, Kelly and Odelius, Michael and F{\"o}hlisch, Alexander}, title = {Disentangling Transient Charge Density and Metal-Ligand Covalency in Photoexcited Ferricyanide with Femtosecond Resonant Inelastic Soft X-ray Scattering}, series = {The journal of physical chemistry letters}, volume = {9}, journal = {The journal of physical chemistry letters}, number = {12}, publisher = {American Chemical Society}, address = {Washington}, issn = {1948-7185}, doi = {10.1021/acs.jpclett.8b01429}, pages = {3538 -- 3543}, year = {2018}, abstract = {Soft X-ray spectroscopies are ideal probes of the local valence electronic structure of photocatalytically active metal sites. Here, we apply the selectivity of time resolved resonant inelastic X-ray scattering at the iron L-edge to the transient charge distribution of an optically excited charge-transfer state in aqueous ferricyanide. Through comparison to steady-state spectra and quantum chemical calculations, the coupled effects of valence-shell closing and ligand-hole creation are experimentally and theoretically disentangled and described in terms of orbital occupancy, metal-ligand covalency, and ligand field splitting, thereby extending established steady-state concepts to the excited-state domain. pi-Back-donation is found to be mainly determined by the metal site occupation, whereas the ligand hole instead influences sigma-donation. Our results demonstrate how ultrafast resonant inelastic X-ray scattering can help characterize local charge distributions around catalytic metal centers in short-lived charge-transfer excited states, as a step toward future rationalization and tailoring of photocatalytic capabilities of transition-metal complexes.}, language = {en} } @article{LeitnerJosefssonMazzaetal.2018, author = {Leitner, T. and Josefsson, Ida and Mazza, T. and Miedema, Piter S. and Schr{\"o}der, H. and Beye, Martin and Kunnus, Kristjan and Schreck, S. and D{\"u}sterer, Stefan and F{\"o}hlisch, Alexander and Meyer, M. and Odelius, Michael and Wernet, Philippe}, title = {Time-resolved electron spectroscopy for chemical analysis of photodissociation}, series = {The journal of chemical physics : bridges a gap between journals of physics and journals of chemistr}, volume = {149}, journal = {The journal of chemical physics : bridges a gap between journals of physics and journals of chemistr}, number = {4}, publisher = {American Institute of Physics}, address = {Melville}, issn = {0021-9606}, doi = {10.1063/1.5035149}, pages = {12}, year = {2018}, abstract = {The prototypical photoinduced dissociation of Fe(CO)(5) in the gas phase is used to test time-resolved x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy for studying photochemical reactions. Upon one-photon excitation at 266 nm, Fe(CO)(5) successively dissociates to Fe(CO)(4) and Fe(CO)(3) along a pathway where both fragments retain the singlet multiplicity of Fe(CO)(5). The x-ray free-electron laser FLASH is used to probe the reaction intermediates Fe(CO)(4) and Fe(CO)(3) with time-resolved valence and core-level photoelectron spectroscopy, and experimental results are interpreted with ab initio quantum chemical calculations. Changes in the valence photoelectron spectra are shown to reflect changes in the valenceorbital interactions upon Fe-CO dissociation, thereby validating fundamental theoretical concepts in Fe-CO bonding. Chemical shifts of CO 3 sigma inner-valence and Fe 3 sigma core-level binding energies are shown to correlate with changes in the coordination number of the Fe center. We interpret this with coordination-dependent charge localization and core-hole screening based on calculated changes in electron densities upon core-hole creation in the final ionic states. This extends the established capabilities of steady-state electron spectroscopy for chemical analysis to time-resolved investigations. It could also serve as a benchmark for howcharge and spin density changes in molecular dissociation and excited-state dynamics are expressed in valence and core-level photoelectron spectroscopy. Published by AIP Publishing.}, language = {en} } @misc{JayNorellKunnusetal.2018, author = {Jay, Raphael J. and Norell, Jesper and Kunnus, Kristjan and Lundberg, Marcus and Gaffney, Kelly and Wernet, Philippe and Odelius, Michael and F{\"o}hlisch, Alexander}, title = {Dynamcis of local charge densities and metal-ligand covalency in iron complexes from femtosecond resonant inelastic soft X-ray scattering}, series = {Abstracts of Papers of the American Chemical Society}, volume = {256}, journal = {Abstracts of Papers of the American Chemical Society}, publisher = {American Chemical Society}, address = {Washington}, issn = {0065-7727}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-370051}, pages = {2}, year = {2018}, language = {en} } @misc{NorellJayHantschmannetal.2018, author = {Norell, Jesper and Jay, Raphael and Hantschmann, Markus and Eckert, Sebastian and Guo, Meiyuan and Gaffney, Kelly and Wernet, Philippe and Lundberg, Marcus and F{\"o}hlisch, Alexander and Odelius, Michael}, title = {Fingerprints of electronic, spin and structural dynamics from resonant inelastic soft x-ray scattering in transient photo-chemical species}, series = {Physical chemistry, chemical physics}, journal = {Physical chemistry, chemical physics}, number = {20}, publisher = {RSC Publ.}, address = {Cambridge}, issn = {1463-9084}, doi = {10.1039/c7cp08326b}, pages = {7243 -- 7253}, year = {2018}, abstract = {We describe how inversion symmetry separation of electronic state manifolds in resonant inelastic soft X-ray scattering (RIXS) can be applied to probe excited-state dynamics with compelling selectivity. In a case study of Fe L3-edge RIXS in the ferricyanide complex Fe(CN)63-, we demonstrate with multi-configurational restricted active space spectrum simulations how the information content of RIXS spectral fingerprints can be used to unambiguously separate species of different electronic configurations, spin multiplicities, and structures, with possible involvement in the decay dynamics of photo-excited ligand-to-metal charge-transfer. Specifically, we propose that this could be applied to confirm or reject the presence of a hitherto elusive transient Quartet species. Thus, RIXS offers a particular possibility to settle a recent controversy regarding the decay pathway, and we expect the technique to be similarly applicable in other model systems of photo-induced dynamics.}, language = {en} } @article{EckertNorellJayetal.2019, author = {Eckert, Sebastian and Norell, Jesper and Jay, Raphael Martin and Fondell, Mattis and Mitzner, Rolf and Odelius, Michael and F{\"o}hlisch, Alexander}, title = {T-1 Population as the Driver of Excited-State Proton-Transfer in 2-Thiopyridone}, series = {Chemistry - a European journal}, volume = {25}, journal = {Chemistry - a European journal}, number = {7}, publisher = {Wiley-VCH}, address = {Weinheim}, issn = {0947-6539}, doi = {10.1002/chem.201804166}, pages = {1733 -- 1739}, year = {2019}, abstract = {Excited-state proton transfer (ESPT) is a fundamental process in biomolecular photochemistry, but its underlying mediators often evade direct observation. We identify a distinct pathway for ESPT in aqueous 2-thiopyridone, by employing transient N1s X-ray absorption spectroscopy and multi-configurational spectrum simulations. Photoexcitations to the singlet S-2 and S-4 states both relax promptly through intersystem crossing to the triplet T-1 state. The T-1 state, through its rapid population and near nanosecond lifetime, mediates nitrogen site deprotonation by ESPT in a secondary intersystem crossing to the S-0 potential energy surface. This conclusively establishes a dominant ESPT pathway for the system in aqueous solution, which is also compatible with previous measurements in acetonitrile. Thereby, the hitherto open questions of the pathway for ESPT in the compound, including its possible dependence on excitation wavelength and choice of solvent, are resolved.}, language = {en} } @article{VazdaCruzEckertIannuzzietal.2019, author = {Vaz da Cruz, Vinicius and Eckert, Sebastian and Iannuzzi, Marcella and Ertan, Emelie and Pietzsch, Annette and Couto, Rafael C. and Niskanen, Johannes and Fondell, Mattis and Dantz, Marcus and Schmitt, Thorsten and Lu, Xingye and McNally, Daniel and Jay, Raphael Martin and Kimberg, Victor and F{\"o}hlisch, Alexander and Odelius, Michael}, title = {Probing hydrogen bond strength in liquid water by resonant inelastic X-ray scattering}, series = {Nature Communications}, volume = {10}, journal = {Nature Communications}, publisher = {Nature Publ. Group}, address = {London}, issn = {2041-1723}, doi = {10.1038/s41467-019-08979-4}, pages = {9}, year = {2019}, abstract = {Local probes of the electronic ground state are essential for understanding hydrogen bonding in aqueous environments. When tuned to the dissociative core-excited state at the O1s pre-edge of water, resonant inelastic X-ray scattering back to the electronic ground state exhibits a long vibrational progression due to ultrafast nuclear dynamics. We show how the coherent evolution of the OH bonds around the core-excited oxygen provides access to high vibrational levels in liquid water. The OH bonds stretch into the long-range part of the potential energy curve, which makes the X-ray probe more sensitive than infra-red spectroscopy to the local environment. We exploit this property to effectively probe hydrogen bond strength via the distribution of intramolecular OH potentials derived from measurements. In contrast, the dynamical splitting in the spectral feature of the lowest valence-excited state arises from the short-range part of the OH potential curve and is rather insensitive to hydrogen bonding.}, language = {en} } @misc{CoutoCruzErtanetal.2017, author = {Couto, Rafael C. and Cruz, Vinicius V. and Ertan, Emelie and Eckert, Sebastian and Fondell, Mattis and Dantz, Marcus and Kennedy, Brian and Schmitt, Thorsten and Pietzsch, Annette and Guimar{\~a}es, Freddy F. and {\AA}gren, Hans and Gel'mukhanov, Faris and Odelius, Michael and Kimberg, Victor and F{\"o}hlisch, Alexander}, title = {Selective gating to vibrational modes through resonant X-ray scattering}, series = {Postprints der Universit{\"a}t Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe}, journal = {Postprints der Universit{\"a}t Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe}, number = {1124}, issn = {1866-8372}, doi = {10.25932/publishup-43692}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-436926}, pages = {9}, year = {2017}, abstract = {The dynamics of fragmentation and vibration of molecular systems with a large number of coupled degrees of freedom are key aspects for understanding chemical reactivity and properties. Here we present a resonant inelastic X-ray scattering (RIXS) study to show how it is possible to break down such a complex multidimensional problem into elementary components. Local multimode nuclear wave packets created by X-ray excitation to different core-excited potential energy surfaces (PESs) will act as spatial gates to selectively probe the particular ground-state vibrational modes and, hence, the PES along these modes. We demonstrate this principle by combining ultra-high resolution RIXS measurements for gas-phase water with state-of-the-art simulations.}, language = {en} } @article{EckertNorellMiedemaetal.2017, author = {Eckert, Sebastian and Norell, Jesper and Miedema, Piter S. and Beye, Martin and Fondell, Mattis and Quevedo, Wilson and Kennedy, Brian and Hantschmann, Markus and Pietzsch, Annette and van Kuiken, Benjamin and Ross, Matthew and Minitti, Michael P. and Moeller, Stefan P. and Schlotter, William F. and Khalil, Munira and Odelius, Michael and F{\"o}hlisch, Alexander}, title = {Untersuchung unabh{\"a}ngiger N-H- und N-C-Bindungsverformungen auf ultrakurzen Zeitskalen mit resonanter inelastischer R{\"o}ntgenstreuung}, series = {Angewandte Chemie}, volume = {129}, journal = {Angewandte Chemie}, number = {22}, issn = {1521-3757}, doi = {10.1002/ange.201700239}, pages = {6184 -- 6188}, year = {2017}, abstract = {Die Femtosekundendynamik nach resonanten Photoanregungen mit optischen und R{\"o}ntgenpulsen erm{\"o}glicht eine selektive Verformung von chemischen N-H- und N-C-Bindungen in 2-Thiopyridon in w{\"a}ssriger L{\"o}sung. Die Untersuchung der orbitalspezifischen elektronischen Struktur und ihrer Dynamik auf ultrakurzen Zeitskalen mit resonanter inelastischer R{\"o}ntgenstreuung an der N1s-Resonanz am Synchrotron und dem Freie-Elektronen-Laser LCLS in Kombination mit quantenchemischen Multikonfigurationsberechnungen erbringen den direkten Nachweis dieser kontrollierten photoinduzierten Molek{\"u}lverformungen und ihrer ultrakurzen Zeitskala.}, language = {de} } @misc{EckertNorellMiedemaetal.2017, author = {Eckert, Sebastian and Norell, Jesper and Miedema, Piter S. and Beye, Martin and Fondell, Mattis and Quevedo, Wilson and Kennedy, Brian and Hantschmann, Markus and Pietzsch, Annette and van Kuiken, Benjamin E. and Ross, Matthew and Minitti, Michael P. and Moeller, Stefan P. and Schlotter, William F. and Khalil, Munira and Odelius, Michael and F{\"o}hlisch, Alexander}, title = {Untersuchung unabh{\"a}ngiger N-H- und N-C-Bindungsverformungen auf ultrakurzen Zeitskalen mit resonanter inelastischer R{\"o}ntgenstreuung}, series = {Postprints der Universit{\"a}t Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe}, journal = {Postprints der Universit{\"a}t Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe}, number = {1121}, issn = {1866-8372}, doi = {10.25932/publishup-43668}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-436688}, pages = {7}, year = {2017}, abstract = {Die Femtosekundendynamik nach resonanten Photoanregungen mit optischen und R{\"o}ntgenpulsen erm{\"o}glicht eine selektive Verformung von chemischen N-H- und N-C-Bindungen in 2-Thiopyridon in w{\"a}ssriger L{\"o}sung. Die Untersuchung der orbitalspezifischen elektronischen Struktur und ihrer Dynamik auf ultrakurzen Zeitskalen mit resonanter inelastischer R{\"o}ntgenstreuung an der N1s-Resonanz am Synchrotron und dem Freie-Elektronen-Laser LCLS in Kombination mit quantenchemischen Multikonfigurationsberechnungen erbringen den direkten Nachweis dieser kontrollierten photoinduzierten Molek{\"u}lverformungen und ihrer ultrakurzen Zeitskala.}, language = {de} } @misc{EckertNorellMiedemaetal.2017, author = {Eckert, Sebastian and Norell, Jesper and Miedema, Piter S. and Beye, Martin and Fondell, Mattis and Quevedo, Wilson and Kennedy, Brian and Hantschmann, Markus and Pietzsch, Annette and van Kuiken, Benjamin E. and Ross, Matthew and Minitti, Michael P. and Moeller, Stefan P. and Schlotter, William F. and Khalil, Munira and Odelius, Michael and F{\"o}hlisch, Alexander}, title = {Ultrafast Independent N-H and N-C Bond Deformation Investigated with Resonant Inelastic X-Ray Scattering}, series = {Postprints der Universit{\"a}t Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe}, journal = {Postprints der Universit{\"a}t Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe}, number = {1115}, issn = {1866-8372}, doi = {10.25932/publishup-43687}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-436873}, pages = {7}, year = {2017}, abstract = {The femtosecond excited-state dynamics following resonant photoexcitation enable the selective deformation of N-H and N-C chemical bonds in 2-thiopyridone in aqueous solution with optical or X-ray pulses. In combination with multiconfigurational quantum-chemical calculations, the orbital-specific electronic structure and its ultrafast dynamics accessed with resonant inelastic X-ray scattering at the N 1s level using synchrotron radiation and the soft X-ray free-electron laser LCLS provide direct evidence for this controlled photoinduced molecular deformation and its ultrashort time-scale.}, language = {en} } @article{VazdaCruzIgnatovaCoutoetal.2019, author = {Vaz da Cruz, Vin{\´i}cius and Ignatova, Nina and Couto, Rafael and Fedotov, Daniil and Rehn, Dirk R. and Savchenko, Viktoriia and Norman, Patrick and {\AA}gren, Hans and Polyutov, Sergey and Niskanen, Johannes and Eckert, Sebastian and Jay, Raphael Martin and Fondell, Mattis and Schmitt, Thorsten and Pietzsch, Annette and F{\"o}hlisch, Alexander and Odelius, Michael and Kimberg, Victor and Gel'mukhanov, Faris}, title = {Nuclear dynamics in resonant inelastic X-ray scattering and X-ray absorption of methanol}, series = {The journal of chemical physics : bridges a gap between journals of physics and journals of chemistr}, volume = {150}, journal = {The journal of chemical physics : bridges a gap between journals of physics and journals of chemistr}, number = {23}, publisher = {American Institute of Physics}, address = {Melville}, issn = {0021-9606}, doi = {10.1063/1.5092174}, pages = {20}, year = {2019}, abstract = {We report on a combined theoretical and experimental study of core-excitation spectra of gas and liquid phase methanol as obtained with the use of X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) and resonant inelastic X-ray scattering (RIXS). The electronic transitions are studied with computational methods that include strict and extended second-order algebraic diagrammatic construction [ADC(2) and ADC(2)-x], restricted active space second-order perturbation theory, and time-dependent density functional theory-providing a complete assignment of the near oxygen K-edge XAS. We show that multimode nuclear dynamics is of crucial importance for explaining the available experimental XAS and RIXS spectra. The multimode nuclear motion was considered in a recently developed "mixed representation" where dissociative states and highly excited vibrational modes are accurately treated with a time-dependent wave packet technique, while the remaining active vibrational modes are described using Franck-Condon amplitudes. Particular attention is paid to the polarization dependence of RIXS and the effects of the isotopic substitution on the RIXS profile in the case of dissociative core-excited states. Our approach predicts the splitting of the 2a RIXS peak to be due to an interplay between molecular and pseudo-atomic features arising in the course of transitions between dissociative core- and valence-excited states. The dynamical nature of the splitting of the 2a peak in RIXS of liquid methanol near pre-edge core excitation is shown. The theoretical results are in good agreement with our liquid phase measurements and gas phase experimental data available from the literature. (C) 2019 Author(s).}, language = {en} } @article{NorellEckertVanKuikenetal.2019, author = {Norell, Jesper and Eckert, Sebastian and Van Kuiken, Benjamin E. and F{\"o}hlisch, Alexander and Odelius, Michael}, title = {Ab initio simulations of complementary K-edges and solvatization effects for detection of proton transfer in aqueous 2-thiopyridone}, series = {The journal of chemical physics : bridges a gap between journals of physics and journals of chemistr}, volume = {151}, journal = {The journal of chemical physics : bridges a gap between journals of physics and journals of chemistr}, number = {11}, publisher = {American Institute of Physics}, address = {Melville}, issn = {0021-9606}, doi = {10.1063/1.5109840}, pages = {12}, year = {2019}, abstract = {The nitrogen and sulfur K-edge X-ray absorption spectra of aqueous 2-thiopyridone, a model system for excited-state proton transfer in several recent time-resolved measurements, have been simulated from ab initio molecular dynamics. Spectral signatures of the local intra- and inter-molecular structure are identified and rationalized, which facilitates experimental interpretation and optimization. In particular, comparison of aqueous and gas phase spectrum simulations assesses the previously unquantified solvatization effects, where hydrogen bonding is found to yield solvatochromatic shifts up to nearly 1 eV of the main peak positions. Thereby, while each K-edge can still decisively determine the local protonation of its core-excited site, only their combined, complementary fingerprints allow separating all of the three relevant molecular forms, giving a complete picture of the proton transfer.}, language = {en} } @article{EckertNorellMiedemaetal.2017, author = {Eckert, Sebastian and Norell, Jesper and Miedema, Piter S. and Beye, Martin and Fondell, Mattis and Quevedo, Wilson and Kennedy, Brian and Hantschmann, Markus and Pietzsch, Annette and Van Kuiken, Benjamin E. and Ross, Matthew and Minitti, Michael P. and Moeller, Stefan P. and Schlotter, William F. and Khalil, Munira and Odelius, Michael and F{\"o}hlisch, Alexander}, title = {Ultrafast Independent N-H and N-C Bond Deformation Investigated with Resonant Inelastic X-Ray Scattering}, series = {Angewandte Chemie : a journal of the Gesellschaft Deutscher Chemiker ; International edition}, volume = {56}, journal = {Angewandte Chemie : a journal of the Gesellschaft Deutscher Chemiker ; International edition}, publisher = {Wiley-VCH}, address = {Weinheim}, issn = {1433-7851}, doi = {10.1002/anie.201700239}, pages = {6088 -- 6092}, year = {2017}, abstract = {The femtosecond excited-state dynamics following resonant photoexcitation enable the selective deformation of N-H and N-C chemical bonds in 2-thiopyridone in aqueous solution with optical or X-ray pulses. In combination with multiconfigurational quantum-chemical calculations, the orbital-specific electronic structure and its ultrafast dynamics accessed with resonant inelastic X-ray scattering at the N 1s level using synchrotron radiation and the soft X-ray free-electron laser LCLS provide direct evidence for this controlled photoinduced molecular deformation and its ultrashort time-scale.}, language = {en} } @article{WernetLeitnerJosefssonetal.2017, author = {Wernet, Philippe and Leitner, T. and Josefsson, Ida and Mazza, T. and Miedema, P. S. and Schroder, H. and Beye, Martin and Kunnus, K. and Schreck, S. and Radcliffe, P. and Dusterer, S. and Meyer, M. and Odelius, Michael and Fohlisch, Alexander}, title = {Communication: Direct evidence for sequential dissociation of gas-phase Fe(CO)(5) via a singlet pathway upon excitation at 266 nm}, series = {The journal of chemical physics : bridges a gap between journals of physics and journals of chemistr}, volume = {146}, journal = {The journal of chemical physics : bridges a gap between journals of physics and journals of chemistr}, publisher = {American Institute of Physics}, address = {Melville}, issn = {0021-9606}, doi = {10.1063/1.4984774}, pages = {5}, year = {2017}, abstract = {We prove the hitherto hypothesized sequential dissociation of Fe(CO)(5) in the gas phase upon photoexcitation at 266 nm via a singlet pathway with time-resolved valence and core-level photoelectron spectroscopy with an x-ray free-electron laser. Valence photoelectron spectra are used to identify free CO molecules and to determine the time constants of stepwise dissociation to Fe(CO)(4) within the temporal resolution of the experiment and further to Fe(CO)(3) within 3 ps. Fe 3p core-level photoelectron spectra directly reflect the singlet spin state of the Fe center in Fe(CO)(5), Fe(CO)(4), and Fe(CO)(3) showing that the dissociation exclusively occurs along a singlet pathway without triplet-state contribution. Our results are important for assessing intra- and intermolecular relaxation processes in the photodissociation dynamics of the prototypical Fe(CO)(5) complex in the gas phase and in solution, and they establish time-resolved core-level photoelectron spectroscopy as a powerful tool for determining the multiplicity of transition metals in photochemical reactions of coordination complexes. Published by AIP Publishing.}, language = {en} } @article{VazdaCruzErtanCoutoetal.2017, author = {Vaz da Cruz, Vinicius and Ertan, Emelie and Couto, Rafael C. and Eckert, Sebastian and Fondell, Mattis and Dantz, Marcus and Kennedy, Brian and Schmitt, Thorsten and Pietzsch, Annette and Guimaraes, Freddy F. and {\AA}gren, Hans and Odelius, Michael and F{\"o}hlisch, Alexander and Kimberg, Victor}, title = {A study of the water molecule using frequency control over nuclear dynamics in resonant X-ray scattering}, series = {Physical chemistry, chemical physics : a journal of European Chemical Societies}, volume = {19}, journal = {Physical chemistry, chemical physics : a journal of European Chemical Societies}, publisher = {Royal Society of Chemistry}, address = {Cambridge}, issn = {1463-9076}, doi = {10.1039/c7cp01215b}, pages = {19573 -- 19589}, year = {2017}, abstract = {In this combined theoretical and experimental study we report a full analysis of the resonant inelastic X-ray scattering (RIXS) spectra of H2O, D2O and HDO. We demonstrate that electronically-elastic RIXS has an inherent capability to map the potential energy surface and to perform vibrational analysis of the electronic ground state in multimode systems. We show that the control and selection of vibrational excitation can be performed by tuning the X-ray frequency across core-excited molecular bands and that this is clearly reflected in the RIXS spectra. Using high level ab initio electronic structure and quantum nuclear wave packet calculations together with high resolution RIXS measurements, we discuss in detail the mode coupling, mode localization and anharmonicity in the studied systems.}, language = {en} } @article{KunnusJosefssonRajkovicetal.2016, author = {Kunnus, Kristjan and Josefsson, I. and Rajkovic, Ivan and Schreck, Simon and Quevedo, Wilson and Beye, Martin and Weniger, C. and Gruebel, S. and Scholz, M. and Nordlund, D. and Zhang, W. and Hartsock, R. W. and Gaffney, K. J. and Schlotter, W. F. and Turner, J. J. and Kennedy, B. and Hennies, F. and de Groot, F. M. F. and Techert, S. and Odelius, Michael and Wernet, Ph. and F{\"o}hlisch, Alexander}, title = {Identification of the dominant photochemical pathways and mechanistic insights to the ultrafast ligand exchange of Fe(CO)(5) to Fe(CO)(4)EtOH}, series = {Structural dynamics}, volume = {3}, journal = {Structural dynamics}, publisher = {American Institute of Physics}, address = {Washington}, issn = {2329-7778}, doi = {10.1063/1.4941602}, pages = {16}, year = {2016}, abstract = {We utilized femtosecond time-resolved resonant inelastic X-ray scattering and ab initio theory to study the transient electronic structure and the photoinduced molecular dynamics of a model metal carbonyl photocatalyst Fe(CO)(5) in ethanol solution. We propose mechanistic explanation for the parallel ultrafast intra-molecular spin crossover and ligation of the Fe(CO)(4) which are observed following a charge transfer photoexcitation of Fe(CO)(5) as reported in our previous study [ Wernet et al., Nature 520, 78 (2015)]. We find that branching of the reaction pathway likely happens in the (1)A(1) state of Fe(CO)(4). A sub-picosecond time constant of the spin crossover from B-1(2) to B-3(2) is rationalized by the proposed B-1(2) -> (1)A(1) -> B-3(2) mechanism. Ultrafast ligation of the B-1(2) Fe(CO)(4) state is significantly faster than the spin-forbidden and diffusion limited ligation process occurring from the B-3(2) Fe(CO)(4) ground state that has been observed in the previous studies. We propose that the ultrafast ligation occurs via B-1(2) -> (1)A(1) -> (1)A'Fe(CO)(4)EtOH pathway and the time scale of the (1)A(1) Fe(CO)(4) state ligation is governed by the solute-solvent collision frequency. Our study emphasizes the importance of understanding the interaction of molecular excited states with the surrounding environment to explain the relaxation pathways of photoexcited metal carbonyls in solution. (C) 2016 Author(s).}, language = {en} } @article{KunnusZhangDelceyetal.2016, author = {Kunnus, Kristjan and Zhang, Wenkai and Delcey, Mickael G. and Pinjari, Rahul V. and Miedema, Piter S. and Schreck, Simon and Quevedo, Wilson and Schr{\"o}der, Henning and F{\"o}hlisch, Alexander and Gaffney, Kelly J. and Lundberg, Marcus and Odelius, Michael and Wernet, Philippe}, title = {Viewing the Valence Electronic Structure of Ferric and Ferrous Hexacyanide in Solution from the Fe and Cyanide Perspectives}, series = {The journal of physical chemistry : B, Condensed matter, materials, surfaces, interfaces \& biophysical chemistry}, volume = {120}, journal = {The journal of physical chemistry : B, Condensed matter, materials, surfaces, interfaces \& biophysical chemistry}, publisher = {American Chemical Society}, address = {Washington}, issn = {1520-6106}, doi = {10.1021/acs.jpcb.6b04751}, pages = {7182 -- 7194}, year = {2016}, abstract = {The valence-excited states of ferric and ferrous hexacyanide ions in aqueous solution were mapped by resonant inelastic X-ray scattering (RIXS) at the Fe L-2,L-3 and N K edges. Probing of both the central Fe and the ligand N atoms enabled identification of the metal-and ligand-centered excited states, as well as ligand-to-metal and metal-to-ligand charge-transfer excited states. Ab initio calculations utilizing the RASPT2 method were used to simulate the Fe L-2,L-3-edge RIXS spectra and enabled quantification of the covalencies of both occupied and empty orbitals of pi and sigma symmetry. We found that pi back-donation in the ferric complex is smaller than that in the ferrous complex. This is evidenced by the relative amounts of Fe 3d character in the nominally 2 pi CN- molecular orbital of 7\% and 9\% in ferric and ferrous hexacyanide, respectively. Utilizing the direct sensitivity of Fe L-3-edge RIXS to the Fe 3d character in the occupied molecular orbitals, we also found that the donation interactions are dominated by sigma bonding. The latter was found to be stronger in the ferric complex, with an Fe 3d contribution to the nominally 5 sigma CN- molecular orbitals of 29\% compared to 20\% in the ferrous complex. These results are consistent with the notion that a higher charge at the central metal atom increases donation and decreases back-donation.}, language = {en} }