TY - JOUR A1 - Kunnus, Kristjan A1 - Zhang, Wenkai A1 - Delcey, Mickael G. A1 - Pinjari, Rahul V. A1 - Miedema, Piter S. A1 - Schreck, Simon A1 - Quevedo, Wilson A1 - Schröder, Henning A1 - Föhlisch, Alexander A1 - Gaffney, Kelly J. A1 - Lundberg, Marcus A1 - Odelius, Michael A1 - Wernet, Philippe T1 - Viewing the Valence Electronic Structure of Ferric and Ferrous Hexacyanide in Solution from the Fe and Cyanide Perspectives JF - The journal of physical chemistry : B, Condensed matter, materials, surfaces, interfaces & biophysical chemistry N2 - 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. Y1 - 2016 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jpcb.6b04751 SN - 1520-6106 VL - 120 SP - 7182 EP - 7194 PB - American Chemical Society CY - Washington ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Eckert, Sebastian A1 - Niskanen, Johannes A1 - Jay, Raphael Martin A1 - Miedema, Piter S. A1 - Fondell, Mattis A1 - Kennedy, Brian A1 - Quevedo, Wilson A1 - Iannuzzi, Marcella A1 - Föhlisch, Alexander T1 - Valence orbitals and local bond dynamics around N atoms of histidine under X-ray irradiation JF - Physical chemistry, chemical physics : a journal of European Chemical Societies N2 - The valence orbitals of aqueous histidine under basic, neutral and acidic conditions and their X-ray induced transformations have been monitored through N 1s resonant inelastic X-ray scattering. Using density functional ab initio molecular dynamics simulations in the core-hole state within the Z + 1 approximation, core-excitation-induced molecular transformations are quantified. Spectroscopic evidence for a highly directional X-ray-induced local N-H dissociation within the scattering duration is presented for acidic histidine. Our report demonstrates a protonation-state and chemical-environment dependent propensity for a molecular dissociation, which is induced by the absorption of high energy photons. This case study indicates that structural deformations in biomolecules under exposure to ionizing radiation, yielding possible alteration or loss of function, is highly dependent on the physiological state of the molecule upon irradiation. Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1039/c7cp05713j SN - 1463-9076 SN - 1463-9084 VL - 19 SP - 32091 EP - 32098 PB - Royal Society of Chemistry CY - Cambridge ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Eckert, Sebastian A1 - Norell, Jesper A1 - Miedema, Piter S. A1 - Beye, Martin A1 - Fondell, Mattis A1 - Quevedo, Wilson A1 - Kennedy, Brian A1 - Hantschmann, Markus A1 - Pietzsch, Annette A1 - Van Kuiken, Benjamin E. A1 - Ross, Matthew A1 - Minitti, Michael P. A1 - Moeller, Stefan P. A1 - Schlotter, William F. A1 - Khalil, Munira A1 - Odelius, Michael A1 - Föhlisch, Alexander T1 - Ultrafast Independent N-H and N-C Bond Deformation Investigated with Resonant Inelastic X-Ray Scattering JF - Angewandte Chemie : a journal of the Gesellschaft Deutscher Chemiker ; International edition N2 - 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. KW - nitrogen KW - photochemistry KW - protonation KW - RIXS (resonant inelastic X-ray scattering) KW - selective bond cleavage Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.201700239 SN - 1433-7851 SN - 1521-3773 VL - 56 SP - 6088 EP - 6092 PB - Wiley-VCH CY - Weinheim ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Fondell, Mattis A1 - Eckert, Sebastian A1 - Jay, Raphael Martin A1 - Weniger, Christian A1 - Quevedo, Wilson A1 - Niskanen, Johannes A1 - Kennedy, Brian A1 - Sorgenfrei, Florian A1 - Schick, Daniel A1 - Giangrisostomi, Erika A1 - Ovsyannikov, Ruslan A1 - Adamczyk, Katrin A1 - Huse, Nils A1 - Wernet, Philippe A1 - Mitzner, Rolf A1 - Föhlisch, Alexander T1 - Time-resolved soft X-ray absorption spectroscopy in transmission mode on liquids at MHz repetition rates JF - Structural dynamics N2 - We present a setup combining a liquid flatjet sample delivery and a MHz laser system for time-resolved soft X-ray absorption measurements of liquid samples at the high brilliance undulator beamline UE52-SGM at Bessy II yielding unprecedented statistics in this spectral range. We demonstrate that the efficient detection of transient absorption changes in transmission mode enables the identification of photoexcited species in dilute samples. With iron(II)-trisbipyridine in aqueous solution as a benchmark system, we present absorption measurements at various edges in the soft X-ray regime. In combination with the wavelength tunability of the laser system, the set-up opens up opportunities to study the photochemistry of many systems at low concentrations, relevant to materials sciences, chemistry, and biology. (C) 2017 Author(s). Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4993755 SN - 2329-7778 VL - 4 PB - American Institute of Physics CY - Melville ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Jay, Raphael Martin A1 - Eckert, Sebastian A1 - Fondell, Mattis A1 - Miedema, Piter S. A1 - Norell, Jesper A1 - Pietzsch, Annette A1 - Quevedo, Wilson A1 - Niskanen, Johannes A1 - Kunnus, Kristjan A1 - Föhlisch, Alexander T1 - The nature of frontier orbitals under systematic ligand exchange in (pseudo-)octahedral Fe(II) complexes JF - Physical chemistry, chemical physics : a journal of European Chemical Societies N2 - Understanding and controlling properties of transition metal complexes is a crucial step towards tailoring materials for sustainable energy applications. In a systematic approach, we use resonant inelastic X-ray scattering to study the influence of ligand substitution on the valence electronic structure around an aqueous iron(II) center. Exchanging cyanide with 2-2′-bipyridine ligands reshapes frontier orbitals in a way that reduces metal 3d charge delocalization onto the ligands. This net decrease of metal–ligand covalency results in lower metal-centered excited state energies in agreement with previously reported excited state dynamics. Furthermore, traces of solvent-effects were found indicating a varying interaction strength of the solvent with ligands of different character. Our results demonstrate how ligand exchange can be exploited to shape frontier orbitals of transition metal complexes in solution-phase chemistry; insights upon which future efforts can built when tailoring the functionality of photoactive systems for light-harvesting applications. Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1039/c8cp04341h SN - 1463-9076 SN - 1463-9084 VL - 20 IS - 44 SP - 27745 EP - 27751 PB - Royal Society of Chemistry CY - Cambridge ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Kubin, Markus A1 - Kern, Jan A1 - Gul, Sheraz A1 - Kroll, Thomas A1 - Chatterjee, Ruchira A1 - Loechel, Heike A1 - Fuller, Franklin D. A1 - Sierra, Raymond G. A1 - Quevedo, Wilson A1 - Weniger, Christian A1 - Rehanek, Jens A1 - Firsov, Anatoly A1 - Laksmono, Hartawan A1 - Weninger, Clemens A1 - Alonso-Mori, Roberto A1 - Nordlund, Dennis L. A1 - Lassalle-Kaiser, Benedikt A1 - Glownia, James M. A1 - Krzywinski, Jacek A1 - Moeller, Stefan A1 - Turner, Joshua J. A1 - Minitti, Michael P. A1 - Dakovski, Georgi L. A1 - Koroidov, Sergey A1 - Kawde, Anurag A1 - Kanady, Jacob S. A1 - Tsui, Emily Y. A1 - Suseno, Sandy A1 - Han, Zhiji A1 - Hill, Ethan A1 - Taguchi, Taketo A1 - Borovik, Andrew S. A1 - Agapie, Theodor A1 - Messinger, Johannes A1 - Erko, Alexei A1 - Föhlisch, Alexander A1 - Bergmann, Uwe A1 - Mitzner, Rolf A1 - Yachandra, Vittal K. A1 - Yano, Junko A1 - Wernet, Philippe T1 - Soft x-ray absorption spectroscopy of metalloproteins and high-valent metal-complexes at room temperature using free-electron lasers JF - Structural dynamics N2 - X-ray absorption spectroscopy at the L-edge of 3d transition metals provides unique information on the local metal charge and spin states by directly probing 3d-derived molecular orbitals through 2p-3d transitions. However, this soft x-ray technique has been rarely used at synchrotron facilities for mechanistic studies of metalloenzymes due to the difficulties of x-ray-induced sample damage and strong background signals from light elements that can dominate the low metal signal. Here, we combine femtosecond soft x-ray pulses from a free-electron laser with a novel x-ray fluorescence-yield spectrometer to overcome these difficulties. We present L-edge absorption spectra of inorganic high-valent Mn complexes (Mn similar to 6-15 mmol/l) with no visible effects of radiation damage. We also present the first L-edge absorption spectra of the oxygen evolving complex (Mn4CaO5) in Photosystem II (Mn < 1 mmol/l) at room temperature, measured under similar conditions. Our approach opens new ways to study metalloenzymes under functional conditions. (C) 2017 Author(s). Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4986627 SN - 2329-7778 VL - 4 PB - American Institute of Physics CY - Melville ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Yin, Zhong A1 - Rajkovic, Ivan A1 - Kubicek, Katharina A1 - Quevedo, Wilson A1 - Pietzsch, Annette A1 - Wernet, Philippe A1 - Föhlisch, Alexander A1 - Techert, Simone T1 - Probing the Hofmeister effect with ultrafast core-hole spectroscopy JF - The journal of physical chemistry : B, Condensed matter, materials, surfaces, interfaces & biophysical chemistry N2 - In the current work, X-ray emission spectra of aqueous solutions of different inorganic salts within the Hofmeister series are presented. The results reflect the direct interaction of the ions with the water molecules and therefore, reveal general properties of the salt-water interactions. Within the experimental precision a significant effect of the ions on the water structure has been observed but no ordering according to the structure maker/structure breaker concept could be mirrored in the results indicating that the Hofmeister effect if existent may be caused by more complex interactions. Y1 - 2014 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1021/jp504577a SN - 1520-6106 VL - 118 IS - 31 SP - 9398 EP - 9403 PB - American Chemical Society CY - Washington ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Eckert, Sebastian A1 - Beye, Martin A1 - Pietzsch, Annette A1 - Quevedo, Wilson A1 - Hantschmann, Markus A1 - Ochmann, Miguel A1 - Ross, Matthew A1 - Minitti, Michael P. A1 - Turner, Joshua J. A1 - Moeller, Stefan P. A1 - Schlotter, William F. A1 - Dakovski, Georgi L. A1 - Khalil, Munira A1 - Huse, Nils A1 - Föhlisch, Alexander T1 - Principles of femtosecond X-ray/optical cross-correlation with X-ray induced transient optical reflectivity in solids JF - Applied physics letters N2 - The discovery of ultrafast X-ray induced optical reflectivity changes enabled the development of X-ray/optical cross correlation techniques at X-ray free electron lasers worldwide. We have now linked through experiment and theory the fundamental excitation and relaxation steps with the transient optical properties in finite solid samples. Therefore, we gain a thorough interpretation and an optimized detection scheme of X-ray induced changes to the refractive index and the X-ray/optical cross correlation response. (C) 2015 AIP Publishing LLC. Y1 - 2015 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4907949 SN - 0003-6951 SN - 1077-3118 VL - 106 IS - 6 PB - American Institute of Physics CY - Melville ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Wernet, Philippe A1 - Kunnus, Kristjan A1 - Josefsson, Ida A1 - Rajkovic, Ivan A1 - Quevedo, Wilson A1 - Beye, Martin A1 - Schreck, Simon A1 - Gruebel, S. A1 - Scholz, Mirko A1 - Nordlund, Dennis A1 - Zhang, Wenkai A1 - Hartsock, Robert W. A1 - Schlotter, William F. A1 - Turner, Joshua J. A1 - Kennedy, Brian A1 - Hennies, Franz A1 - de Groot, Frank M. F. A1 - Gaffney, Kelly J. A1 - Techert, Simone A1 - Odelius, Michael A1 - Föhlisch, Alexander T1 - Orbital-specific mapping of the ligand exchange dynamics of Fe(CO)(5) in solution JF - Nature : the international weekly journal of science N2 - Transition-metal complexes have long attracted interest for fundamental chemical reactivity studies and possible use in solar energy conversion(1,2). Electronic excitation, ligand loss from the metal centre, or a combination of both, creates changes in charge and spin density at the metal site(3-11) that need to be controlled to optimize complexes for photocatalytic hydrogen production(8) and selective carbon-hydrogen bond activation(9-11). An understanding at the molecular level of how transition-metal complexes catalyse reactions, and in particular of the role of the short-lived and reactive intermediate states involved, will be critical for such optimization. However, suitable methods for detailed characterization of electronic excited states have been lacking. Here we show, with the use of X-ray laser-based femtosecond-resolution spectroscopy and advanced quantum chemical theory to probe the reaction dynamics of the benchmark transition-metal complex Fe(CO)(5) in solution, that the photo-induced removal of CO generates the 16-electron Fe(CO)(4) species, a homogeneous catalyst(12,13) with an electron deficiency at the Fe centre(14,15), in a hitherto unreported excited singlet state that either converts to the triplet ground state or combines with a CO or solvent molecule to regenerate a penta-coordinated Fe species on a sub-picosecond timescale. This finding, which resolves the debate about the relative importance of different spin channels in the photochemistry of Fe(CO)(5) (refs 4, 16-20), was made possible by the ability of femtosecond X-ray spectroscopy to probe frontier-orbital interactions with atom specificity. We expect the method to be broadly applicable in the chemical sciences, and to complement approaches that probe structural dynamics in ultrafast processes. Y1 - 2015 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1038/nature14296 SN - 0028-0836 SN - 1476-4687 VL - 520 IS - 7545 SP - 78 EP - 81 PB - Nature Publ. Group CY - London ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Mitzner, Rolf A1 - Rehanek, Jens A1 - Kern, Jan A1 - Gul, Sheraz A1 - Hattne, Johan A1 - Taguchi, Taketo A1 - Alonso-Mori, Roberto A1 - Tran, Rosalie A1 - Weniger, Christian A1 - Schröder, Henning A1 - Quevedo, Wilson A1 - Laksmono, Hartawan A1 - Sierra, Raymond G. A1 - Han, Guangye A1 - Lassalle-Kaiser, Benedikt A1 - Koroidov, Sergey A1 - Kubicek, Katharina A1 - Schreck, Simon A1 - Kunnus, Kristjan A1 - Brzhezinskaya, Maria A1 - Firsov, Alexander A1 - Minitti, Michael P. A1 - Turner, Joshua J. A1 - Möller, Stefan A1 - Sauter, Nicholas K. A1 - Bogan, Michael J. A1 - Nordlund, Dennis A1 - Schlotter, William F. A1 - Messinger, Johannes A1 - Borovik, Andrew S. A1 - Techert, Simone A1 - de Groot, Frank M. F. A1 - Föhlisch, Alexander A1 - Erko, Alexei A1 - Bergmann, Uwe A1 - Yachandra, Vittal K. A1 - Wernet, Philippe A1 - Yano, Junko T1 - L-edge x-ray absorption spectroscopy of dilute systems relevant to metalloproteins using an X-ray free-electron laser JF - The journal of physical chemistry letters N2 - L-edge spectroscopy of 3d transition metals provides important electronic structure information and has been used in many fields. However, the use of this method for studying dilute aqueous systems, such as metalloenzymes, has not been prevalent because of severe radiation damage and the lack of suitable detection systems. Here we present spectra from a dilute Mn aqueous solution using a high-transmission zone-plate spectrometer at the Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS). The spectrometer has been optimized for discriminating the Mn L-edge signal from the overwhelming 0 K-edge background that arises from water and protein itself, and the ultrashort LCLS X-ray pulses can outrun X-ray induced damage. We show that the deviations of the partial-fluorescence yield-detected spectra from the true absorption can be well modeled using the state-dependence of the fluorescence yield, and discuss implications for the application of our concept to biological samples. Y1 - 2013 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1021/jz401837f SN - 1948-7185 VL - 4 IS - 21 SP - 3641 EP - 3647 PB - American Chemical Society CY - Washington ER -