TY  - JOUR
A1  - Kunnus, Kristjan
A1  - Josefsson, I.
A1  - Rajkovic, Ivan
A1  - Schreck, Simon
A1  - Quevedo, Wilson
A1  - Beye, Martin
A1  - Weniger, C.
A1  - Gruebel, S.
A1  - Scholz, M.
A1  - Nordlund, D.
A1  - Zhang, W.
A1  - Hartsock, R. W.
A1  - Gaffney, K. J.
A1  - Schlotter, W. F.
A1  - Turner, J. J.
A1  - Kennedy, B.
A1  - Hennies, F.
A1  - de Groot, F. M. F.
A1  - Techert, S.
A1  - Odelius, Michael
A1  - Wernet, Ph.
A1  - Föhlisch, Alexander
T1  - Identification of the dominant photochemical pathways and mechanistic insights to the ultrafast ligand exchange of Fe(CO)(5) to Fe(CO)(4)EtOH
JF  - Structural dynamics
N2  - 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).
Y1  - 2016
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4941602
SN  - 2329-7778
VL  - 3
PB  - American Institute of Physics
CY  - Washington
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Wernet, Philippe
A1  - Kunnus, Kristjan
A1  - Schreck, Simon
A1  - Quevedo, Wilson
A1  - Kurian, Reshmi
A1  - Techert, Simone
A1  - de Groot, Frank M. F.
A1  - Odelius, Michael
A1  - Föhlisch, Alexander
T1  - Dissecting local atomic and intermolecular interactions of transition-metal ions in solution with selective X-ray spectroscopy
JF  - The journal of physical chemistry letters
N2  - Determining covalent and charge-transfer contributions to bonding in solution has remained an experimental challenge. Here, the quenching of fluorescence decay channels as expressed in dips in the L-edge X-ray spectra of solvated 3d transition-metal ions and complexes was reported as a probe. With a full set of experimental and theoretical ab initio L-edge X-ray spectra of aqueous Cr3+, including resonant inelastic X-ray scattering, we address covalency and charge transfer for this prototypical transition-metal ion in solution. We dissect local atomic effects from intermolecular interactions and quantify X-ray optical effects. We find no evidence for the asserted ultrafast charge transfer to the solvent and show that the dips are readily explained by X-ray optical effects and local atomic state dependence of the fluorescence yield. Instead, we find, besides ionic interactions, a covalent contribution to the bonding in the aqueous complex of ligand-to-metal charge-transfer character.
Y1  - 2012
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1021/jz301486u
SN  - 1948-7185
VL  - 3
IS  - 23
SP  - 3448
EP  - 3453
PB  - American Chemical Society
CY  - Washington
ER  -