TY - JOUR A1 - Ostrom, H. A1 - Oberg, H. A1 - Xin, H. A1 - Larue, J. A1 - Beye, Martin A1 - Gladh, J. A1 - Ng, M. L. A1 - Sellberg, J. A. A1 - Kaya, S. A1 - Mercurio, G. A1 - Nordlund, D. A1 - Hantschmann, Markus A1 - Hieke, F. A1 - Kuehn, D. A1 - Schlotter, W. F. A1 - Dakovski, G. L. A1 - Turner, J. J. A1 - Minitti, M. P. A1 - Mitra, A. A1 - Moeller, S. P. A1 - Föhlisch, Alexander A1 - Wolf, M. A1 - Wurth, W. A1 - Persson, Mats A1 - Norskov, J. K. A1 - Abild-Pedersen, Frank A1 - Ogasawara, Hirohito A1 - Pettersson, Lars G. M. A1 - Nilsson, A. T1 - Probing the transition state region in catalytic CO oxidation on Ru JF - Science N2 - Femtosecond x-ray laser pulses are used to probe the carbon monoxide (CO) oxidation reaction on ruthenium (Ru) initiated by an optical laser pulse. On a time scale of a few hundred femtoseconds, the optical laser pulse excites motions of CO and oxygen (O) on the surface, allowing the reactants to collide, and, with a transient close to a picosecond (ps), new electronic states appear in the OK-edge x-ray absorption spectrum. Density functional theory calculations indicate that these result from changes in the adsorption site and bond formation between CO and O with a distribution of OC-O bond lengths close to the transition state (TS). After 1 ps, 10% of the CO populate the TS region, which is consistent with predictions based on a quantum oscillator model. Y1 - 2015 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1261747 SN - 0036-8075 SN - 1095-9203 VL - 347 IS - 6225 SP - 978 EP - 982 PB - American Assoc. for the Advancement of Science CY - Washington 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 - Xin, Hong A1 - LaRue, Jerry A1 - Oberg, Henrik A1 - Beye, Martin A1 - Turner, J. J. A1 - Gladh, Jörgen A1 - Ng, May L. A1 - Sellberg, Jonas A. A1 - Kaya, Sarp A1 - Mercurio, G. A1 - Hieke, F. A1 - Nordlund, Dennis A1 - Schlotter, William F. A1 - Dakovski, Georgi L. A1 - Minitti, Michael P. A1 - Föhlisch, Alexander A1 - Wolf, Martin A1 - Wurth, Wilfried A1 - Ogasawara, Hirohito A1 - Norskov, Jens K. A1 - Ostrom, Henrik A1 - Pettersson, Lars G. M. A1 - Nilsson, Anders A1 - Abild-Pedersen, Frank T1 - Strong Influence of Coadsorbate Interaction on CO Desorption Dynamics on Ru(0001) Probed by Ultrafast X-Ray Spectroscopy and Ab Initio Simulations JF - Physical review letters N2 - We show that coadsorbed oxygen atoms have a dramatic influence on the CO desorption dynamics from Ru(0001). In contrast to the precursor-mediated desorption mechanism on Ru(0001), the presence of surface oxygen modifies the electronic structure of Ru atoms such that CO desorption occurs predominantly via the direct pathway. This phenomenon is directly observed in an ultrafast pump-probe experiment using a soft x-ray free-electron laser to monitor the dynamic evolution of the valence electronic structure of the surface species. This is supported with the potential of mean force along the CO desorption path obtained from density-functional theory calculations. Charge density distribution and frozen-orbital analysis suggest that the oxygen-induced reduction of the Pauli repulsion, and consequent increase of the dative interaction between the CO 5 sigma and the charged Ru atom, is the electronic origin of the distinct desorption dynamics. Ab initio molecular dynamics simulations of CO desorption from Ru(0001) and oxygen-coadsorbed Ru(0001) provide further insights into the surface bond-breaking process. Y1 - 2015 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.114.156101 SN - 0031-9007 SN - 1079-7114 VL - 114 IS - 15 PB - American Physical Society CY - College Park ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Förster, Daniel F. A1 - Lindenau, Bernd A1 - Leyendecker, Marko A1 - Janssen, Franz A1 - Winkler, Carsten A1 - Schumann, Frank O. A1 - Kirschner, Juergen A1 - Holldack, Karsten A1 - Föhlisch, Alexander T1 - Phase-locked MHz pulse selector for x-ray sources JF - Optics letters : a publication of the Optical Society of America N2 - Picosecond x-ray pulses are extracted with a phase-locked x-ray pulse selector at 1.25 MHz repetition rate from the pulse trains of the accelerator-driven multiuser x-ray source BESSY II preserving the peak brilliance at high pulse purity. The system consists of a specially designed in-vacuum chopper wheel rotating with approximate to 1 kHz angular frequency. The wheel is driven in an ultrahigh vacuum and is levitated on magnetic bearings being capable of withstanding high centrifugal forces. Pulses are picked by 1252 high-precision slits of 70 mu m width on the outer rim of the wheel corresponding to a temporal opening window of the chopper of 70 ns. We demonstrate how the electronic phase stabilization of +/- 2 ns together with an arrival time jitter of the individual slits of the same order of magnitude allows us to pick short single bunch x-ray pulses out of a 200 ns ion clearing gap in a multibunch pulse train as emitted from a synchrotron facility at 1.25 MHz repetition rate with a pulse purity below the shot noise detection limit. The approach is applicable to any high-repetition pulsed radiation source, in particular in the x-ray spectral range up to 10 keV. The opening window in a real x-ray beamline, its stability, as well as the limits of mechanical pulse picking techniques in the MHz range are discussed. (C) 2015 Optical Society of America Y1 - 2015 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1364/OL.40.002265 SN - 0146-9592 SN - 1539-4794 VL - 40 IS - 10 SP - 2265 EP - 2268 PB - Optical Society of America CY - Washington ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Kunnus, Kristjan A1 - Schreck, Simon A1 - Föhlisch, Alexander T1 - Free-electron laser based resonant inelastic X-ray scattering on molecules and liquids JF - Journal of electron spectroscopy and related phenomena : the international journal on theoretical and experimental aspects of electron spectroscopy N2 - The unprecedented beam properties of free-electron laser based X-ray sources enable novel resonant inelastic X-ray scattering (RIXS) experiments. Femtosecond time-resolved RIXS can be used to follow charge, spin and structural dynamics of dilute solute molecules in solution. Ultrashort X-ray pulses allow probing of highly radiation sensitive states of matter such as the metastable phase of supercooled liquid water. Nonlinear X-ray probes like amplified spontaneous emission and stimulated resonant X-ray scattering provide an enhanced selectivity and sensitivity as well as a path to control radiation damage and increase the photon yields in RIXS experiments. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. KW - Free-electron laser KW - RIXS KW - Pump-probe KW - Nonlinear X-ray spectroscopy KW - Molecules KW - Liquids Y1 - 2015 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.elspec.2015.08.012 SN - 0368-2048 SN - 1873-2526 VL - 204 SP - 345 EP - 355 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Yin, Zhong A1 - Rajkovic, Ivan A1 - Veedu, Sreevidya Thekku A1 - Deinert, Sascha A1 - Raiser, Dirk A1 - Jain, Rohit A1 - Fukuzawa, Hironobu A1 - Wada, Shin-ichi A1 - Quevedo, Wilson A1 - Kennedy, Brian A1 - Schreck, Simon A1 - Pietzsch, Annette A1 - Wernet, Philippe A1 - Ueda, Kyoshi A1 - Föhlisch, Alexander A1 - Techert, Simone T1 - Ionic solutions probed by resonant inelastic X-ray scattering JF - Zeitschrift für physikalische Chemie : international journal of research in physical chemistry and chemical physics N2 - X-ray spectroscopy is a powerful tool to study the local charge distribution of chemical systems. Together with the liquid jet it becomes possible to probe chemical systems in their natural environment, the liquid phase. In this work, we present X-ray absorption (XA), X-ray emission (XE) and resonant inelastic X-ray scattering (RIXS) data of pure water and various salt solutions and show the possibilities these methods offer to elucidate the nature of ion-water interaction. KW - X-ray Spectroscopy KW - XAS KW - XES KW - RIXS KW - Anions KW - Cations KW - Liquid Jet KW - Synchrotron Radiation Y1 - 2015 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1515/zpch-2015-0610 SN - 0942-9352 VL - 229 IS - 10-12 SP - 1855 EP - 1867 PB - De Gruyter CY - Berlin ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Pietzsch, Annette A1 - Hennies, Franz A1 - Miedema, Piter S. A1 - Kennedy, Brian A1 - Schlappa, Justine A1 - Schmitt, Thorsten A1 - Strocov, Vladimir N. A1 - Föhlisch, Alexander T1 - Snapshots of the Fluctuating Hydrogen Bond Network in Liquid Water on the Sub-Femtosecond Timescale with Vibrational Resonant Inelastic x-ray Scattering JF - Physical review letters N2 - Liquid water molecules interact strongly with each other, forming a fluctuating hydrogen bond network and thereby giving rise to the anomalous phase diagram of liquid water. Consequently, symmetric and asymmetric water molecules have been found in the picosecond time average with IR and optical Raman spectroscopy. With subnatural linewidth resonant inelastic x-ray scattering (RIXS) at vibrational resolution, we take sub-femtosecond snapshots of the electronic and structural properties of water molecules in the hydrogen bond network. We derive a strong dominance of nonsymmetric molecules in liquid water in contrast to the gas phase on the sub-femtosecond timescale of RIXS and determine the fraction of highly asymmetrically distorted molecules. Y1 - 2015 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.114.088302 SN - 0031-9007 SN - 1079-7114 VL - 114 IS - 8 PB - American Physical Society CY - College Park ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Rubensson, Jan-Erik A1 - Soderstrom, Johan A1 - Binggeli, Christian A1 - Grasjo, Joakim A1 - Andersson, Johan A1 - Sathe, Conny A1 - Hennies, Franz A1 - Bisogni, Valentina A1 - Huang, Yaobo A1 - Olalde, Paul A1 - Schmitt, Thorsten A1 - Strocov, Vladimir N. A1 - Föhlisch, Alexander A1 - Kennedy, Brian A1 - Pietzsch, Annette T1 - Rydberg-Resolved Resonant Inelastic Soft X-Ray Scattering: Dynamics at Core Ionization Thresholds JF - Physical review letters N2 - Resonant inelastic x-ray scattering spectra excited in the immediate vicinity of the core-level ionization thresholds of N-2 have been recorded. Final states of well-resolved symmetry-selected Rydberg series converging to valence-level ionization thresholds with vibrational excitations are observed. The results are well described by a quasi-two-step model which assumes that the excited electron is unaffected by the radiative decay. This threshold dynamics simplifies the interpretation of resonant inelastic x-ray scattering spectra considerably and facilitates characterization of low-energy excited final states in molecular systems. Y1 - 2015 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.114.133001 SN - 0031-9007 SN - 1079-7114 VL - 114 IS - 13 PB - American Physical Society CY - College Park ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Sellberg, Jonas A. A1 - McQueen, Trevor A. A1 - Laksmono, Hartawan A1 - Schreck, Simon A1 - Beye, Martin A1 - DePonte, Daniel P. A1 - Kennedy, Brian A1 - Nordlund, Dennis A1 - Sierra, Raymond G. A1 - Schlesinger, Daniel A1 - Tokushima, Takashi A1 - Zhovtobriukh, Iurii A1 - Eckert, Sebastian A1 - Segtnan, Vegard H. A1 - Ogasawara, Hirohito A1 - Kubicek, Katharina A1 - Techert, Simone A1 - Bergmann, Uwe A1 - Dakovski, Georgi L. A1 - Schlotter, William F. A1 - Harada, Yoshihisa A1 - Bogan, Michael J. A1 - Wernet, Philippe A1 - Föhlisch, Alexander A1 - Pettersson, Lars G. M. A1 - Nilsson, Anders T1 - X-ray emission spectroscopy of bulk liquid water in "no-man's land" JF - The journal of chemical physics : bridges a gap between journals of physics and journals of chemistr N2 - The structure of bulk liquid water was recently probed by x-ray scattering below the temperature limit of homogeneous nucleation (T-H) of similar to 232 K [J. A. Sellberg et al., Nature 510, 381-384 (2014)]. Here, we utilize a similar approach to study the structure of bulk liquid water below T-H using oxygen K-edge x-ray emission spectroscopy (XES). Based on previous XES experiments [T. Tokushima et al., Chem. Phys. Lett. 460, 387-400 (2008)] at higher temperatures, we expected the ratio of the 1b(1)' and 1b(1)" peaks associated with the lone-pair orbital in water to change strongly upon deep supercooling as the coordination of the hydrogen (H-) bonds becomes tetrahedral. In contrast, we observed only minor changes in the lone-pair spectral region, challenging an interpretation in terms of two interconverting species. A number of alternative hypotheses to explain the results are put forward and discussed. Although the spectra can be explained by various contributions from these hypotheses, we here emphasize the interpretation that the line shape of each component changes dramatically when approaching lower temperatures, where, in particular, the peak assigned to the proposed disordered component would become more symmetrical as vibrational interference becomes more important. (C) 2015 AIP Publishing LLC. Y1 - 2015 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4905603 SN - 0021-9606 SN - 1089-7690 VL - 142 IS - 4 PB - American Institute of Physics CY - Melville 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 - Oberg, H. A1 - Gladh, Jörgen A1 - Anniyev, Toyli A1 - Beye, Martin A1 - Coffee, Ryan A1 - Föhlisch, Alexander A1 - Katayama, T. A1 - Kaya, Sarp A1 - LaRue, Jerry A1 - Mogelhoj, Andreas A1 - Nordlund, Dennis A1 - Ogasawara, Hirohito A1 - Schlotter, William F. A1 - Sellberg, Jonas A. A1 - Sorgenfrei, Nomi A1 - Turner, Joshua J. A1 - Wolf, Martin A1 - Wurth, W. A1 - Ostrom, Henrik A1 - Nilsson, Anders A1 - Norskov, Jens K. A1 - Pettersson, Lars G. M. T1 - Optical laser-induced CO desorption from Ru(0001) monitored with a free-electron X-ray laser: DFT prediction and X-ray confirmation of a precursor state JF - Surface science N2 - We present density functional theory modeling of time-resolved optical pump/X-ray spectroscopic probe data of CO desorption from Ru(0001). The BEEF van der Waals functional predicts a weakly bound state as a precursor to desorption. The optical pump leads to a near-instantaneous (<100 fs) increase of the electronic temperature to nearly 7000 K. The temperature evolution and energy transfer between electrons, substrate phonons and adsorbate is described by the two-temperature model and found to equilibrate on a timescale of a few picoseconds to an elevated local temperature of similar to 2000K. Estimating the free energy based on the computed potential of mean force along the desorption path, we find an entropic barrier to desorption (and by time-reversal also to adsorption). This entropic barrier separates the chemisorbed and precursor states, and becomes significant at the elevated temperature of the experiment (similar to 1.4 eV at 2000 K). Experimental pump-probe X-ray absorption/X-ray emission spectroscopy indicates population of a precursor state to desorption upon laser-excitation of the system (Dell'Angela et al., 2013). Computing spectra along the desorption path confirms the picture of a weakly bound transient state arising from ultrafast heating of the metal substrate. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. KW - CO desorption KW - Potential of mean force KW - Two-temperature model KW - Pump-probe KW - X-ray spectroscopy KW - Density functional theory Y1 - 2015 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.susc.2015.03.011 SN - 0039-6028 SN - 1879-2758 VL - 640 SP - 80 EP - 88 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Dell'Angela, Martina A1 - Anniyev, Toyli A1 - Beye, Martin A1 - Coffee, Ryan A1 - Föhlisch, Alexander A1 - Gladh, Jörgen A1 - Kaya, Sarp A1 - Katayama, Tetsuo A1 - Krupin, Oleg A1 - Nilsson, Anders A1 - Nordlund, Dennis A1 - Schlotter, William F. A1 - Sellberg, Jonas A. A1 - Sorgenfrei, Nomi A1 - Turner, Joshua J. A1 - ÖstrÖm, Henrik A1 - Ogasawara, Hirohito A1 - Wolf, Martin A1 - Wurth, Wilfried T1 - Vacuum space charge effects in sub-picosecond soft X-ray photoemission on a molecular adsorbate layer JF - Structural dynamics N2 - Vacuum space charge induced kinetic energy shifts of O 1s and Ru 3d core levels in femtosecond soft X-ray photoemission spectra (PES) have been studied at a free electron laser (FEL) for an oxygen layer on Ru(0001). We fully reproduced the measurements by simulating the in-vacuum expansion of the photoelectrons and demonstrate the space charge contribution of the high-order harmonics in the FEL beam. Employing the same analysis for 400 nm pump-X-ray probe PES, we can disentangle the delay dependent Ru 3d energy shifts into effects induced by space charge and by lattice heating from the femtosecond pump pulse. (C) 2015 Author(s). Y1 - 2015 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4914892 SN - 2329-7778 VL - 2 IS - 2 PB - American Institute of Physics CY - Melville ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Beye, Martin A1 - Öberg, Henrik A1 - Xin, Hongliang A1 - Dakovski, Georgi L. A1 - Föhlisch, Alexander A1 - Gladh, Jorgen A1 - Hantschmann, Markus A1 - Hieke, Florian A1 - Kaya, Sarp A1 - Kühn, Danilo A1 - LaRue, Jerry A1 - Mercurio, Giuseppe A1 - Minitti, Michael P. A1 - Mitra, Ankush A1 - Moeller, Stefan P. A1 - Ng, May Ling A1 - Nilsson, Anders A1 - Nordlund, Dennis A1 - Norskov, Jens A1 - Öström, Henrik A1 - Ogasawara, Hirohito A1 - Persson, Mats A1 - Schlotter, William F. A1 - Sellberg, Jonas A. A1 - Wolf, Martin A1 - Abild-Pedersen, Frank A1 - Pettersson, Lars G. M. A1 - Wurth, Wilfried T1 - Chemical Bond Activation Observed with an X-ray Laser JF - The journal of physical chemistry letters N2 - The concept of bonding and antibonding orbitals is fundamental in chemistry. The population of those orbitals and the energetic difference between the two reflect the strength of the bonding interaction. Weakening the bond is expected to reduce this energetic splitting, but the transient character of bond-activation has so far prohibited direct experimental access. Here we apply time-resolved soft X-ray spectroscopy at a free electron laser to directly observe the decreased bonding antibonding splitting following bond-activation using an ultrashort optical laser pulse. Y1 - 2016 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jpclett.6b01543 SN - 1948-7185 VL - 7 SP - 3647 EP - 3651 PB - American Chemical Society CY - Washington ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Kunnus, Kristjan A1 - Josefsson, Ida A1 - Rajkovic, Ivan A1 - Schreck, Simon A1 - Quevedo, Wilson A1 - Beye, Martin A1 - Grübel, Sebastian A1 - Scholz, Mirko A1 - Nordlund, Dennis A1 - Zhang, Wenkai A1 - Hartsock, Robert W. A1 - Gaffney, Kelly J. A1 - Schlotter, William F. A1 - Turner, Joshua J. A1 - Kennedy, Brian A1 - Hennies, Franz A1 - Techert, Simone A1 - Wernet, Philippe A1 - Odelius, Michael A1 - Föhlisch, Alexander T1 - Anti-Stokes resonant x-ray Raman scattering for atom specific and excited state selective dynamics JF - NEW JOURNAL OF PHYSICS N2 - Ultrafast electronic and structural dynamics of matter govern rate and selectivity of chemical reactions, as well as phase transitions and efficient switching in functional materials. Since x-rays determine electronic and structural properties with elemental, chemical, orbital and magnetic selectivity, short pulse x-ray sources have become central enablers of ultrafast science. Despite of these strengths, ultrafast x-rays have been poor at picking up excited state moieties from the unexcited ones. With time-resolved anti-Stokes resonant x-ray Raman scattering (AS-RXRS) performed at the LCLS, and ab initio theory we establish background free excited state selectivity in addition to the elemental, chemical, orbital and magnetic selectivity of x-rays. This unparalleled selectivity extracts low concentration excited state species along the pathway of photo induced ligand exchange of Fe(CO)(5) in ethanol. Conceptually a full theoretical treatment of all accessible insights to excited state dynamics with AS-RXRS with transform-limited x-ray pulses is given-which will be covered experimentally by upcoming transform-limited x-ray sources. KW - ultrafast photochemistry KW - excited state selectivity KW - anti-Stokes resonant x-ray raman scattering KW - free electron lasers KW - resonant inelastic x-ray scattering Y1 - 2016 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1088/1367-2630/18/10/103011 SN - 1367-2630 VL - 18 PB - IOP Publ. Ltd. CY - Bristol ER - 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 - Kroll, Thomas A1 - Kern, Jan A1 - Kubin, Markus A1 - Ratner, Daniel A1 - Gul, Sheraz A1 - Fuller, Franklin D. A1 - Löchel, Heike A1 - Krzywinski, Jacek A1 - Lutman, Alberto A1 - Ding, Yuantao A1 - Dakovski, Georgi L. A1 - Moeller, Stefan A1 - Turner, Joshua J. A1 - Alonso-Mori, Roberto A1 - Nordlund, Dennis L. A1 - Rehanek, Jens A1 - Weniger, Christian A1 - Firsov, Alexander A1 - Brzhezinskaya, Maria A1 - Chatterjee, Ruchira A1 - Lassalle-Kaiser, Benedikt A1 - Sierra, Raymond G. A1 - Laksmono, Hartawan A1 - Hill, Ethan A1 - Borovik, Andrew S. A1 - Erko, Alexei A1 - Föhlisch, Alexander A1 - Mitzner, Rolf A1 - Yachandra, Vittal K. A1 - Yano, Junko A1 - Wernet, Philippe A1 - Bergmann, Uwe T1 - X-ray absorption spectroscopy using a self-seeded soft X-ray free-electron laser JF - Optics express : the international electronic journal of optics N2 - X-ray free electron lasers (XFELs) enable unprecedented new ways to study the electronic structure and dynamics of transition metal systems. L-edge absorption spectroscopy is a powerful technique for such studies and the feasibility of this method at XFELs for solutions and solids has been demonstrated. However, the required x-ray bandwidth is an order of magnitude narrower than that of self-amplified spontaneous emission (SASE), and additional monochromatization is needed. Here we compare L-edge x-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) of a prototypical transition metal system based on monochromatizing the SASE radiation of the linac coherent light source (LCLS) with a new technique based on self-seeding of LCLS. We demonstrate how L-edge XAS can be performed using the self-seeding scheme without the need of an additional beam line monochromator. We show how the spectral shape and pulse energy depend on the undulator setup and how this affects the x-ray spectroscopy measurements. (C) 2016 Optical Society of America Y1 - 2016 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1364/OE.24.022469 SN - 1094-4087 VL - 24 SP - 22469 EP - 22480 PB - Optical Society of America CY - Washington ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Schick, Daniel A1 - Le Guyader, Loic A1 - Pontius, Niko A1 - Radu, Ilie A1 - Kachel, Torsten A1 - Mitzner, Rolf A1 - Zeschke, Thomas A1 - Schuessler-Langeheine, Christian A1 - Föhlisch, Alexander A1 - Holldack, Karsten T1 - Analysis of the halo background in femtosecond slicing experiments JF - Journal of synchrotron radiation N2 - The slicing facility FemtoSpeX at BESSY II offers unique opportunities to study photo-induced dynamics on femtosecond time scales by means of X-ray magnetic circular dichroism, resonant and non-resonant X-ray diffraction, and X-ray absorption spectroscopy experiments in the soft X-ray regime. Besides femtosecond X-ray pulses, slicing sources inherently also produce a so-called `halo' background with a different time structure, polarization and pointing. Here a detailed experimental characterization of the halo radiation is presented, and a method is demonstrated for its correct and unambiguous removal from femtosecond time-resolved data using a special laser triggering scheme as well as analytical models. Examples are given for time-resolved measurements with corresponding halo correction, and errors of the relevant physical quantities caused by either neglecting or by applying a simplified model to describe this background are estimated. KW - femtosecond slicing KW - halo KW - pump-probe KW - XMCD KW - X-ray scattering Y1 - 2016 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1107/S160057751600401X SN - 1600-5775 VL - 23 SP - 700 EP - 711 PB - International Union of Crystallography CY - Chester ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Schreck, Simon A1 - Pietzsch, Annette A1 - Kennedy, Brian A1 - Sathe, Conny A1 - Miedema, Piter S. A1 - Techert, Simone A1 - Strocov, Vladimir N. A1 - Schmitt, Thorsten A1 - Hennies, Franz A1 - Rubensson, Jan-Erik A1 - Föhlisch, Alexander T1 - Ground state potential energy surfaces around selected atoms from resonant inelastic x-ray scattering JF - Scientific reports N2 - Thermally driven chemistry as well as materials’ functionality are determined by the potential energy surface of a systems electronic ground state. This makes the potential energy surface a central and powerful concept in physics, chemistry and materials science. However, direct experimental access to the potential energy surface locally around atomic centers and to its long-range structure are lacking. Here we demonstrate how sub-natural linewidth resonant inelastic soft x-ray scattering at vibrational resolution is utilized to determine ground state potential energy surfaces locally and detect long-range changes of the potentials that are driven by local modifications. We show how the general concept is applicable not only to small isolated molecules such as O2 but also to strongly interacting systems such as the hydrogen bond network in liquid water. The weak perturbation to the potential energy surface through hydrogen bonding is observed as a trend towards softening of the ground state potential around the coordinating atom. The instrumental developments in high resolution resonant inelastic soft x-ray scattering are currently accelerating and will enable broad application of the presented approach. With this multidimensional potential energy surfaces that characterize collective phenomena such as (bio)molecular function or high-temperature superconductivity will become accessible in near future. Y1 - 2016 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1038/srep20054 SN - 2045-2322 VL - 6 PB - Nature Publ. Group CY - London ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Eckert, Sebastian A1 - Miedema, P. S. A1 - Quevedo, W. A1 - Fondell, Mattis A1 - Beye, Martin A1 - Pietzsch, Annette A1 - Ross, M. A1 - Khalil, M. A1 - Föhlisch, Alexander T1 - Molecular structures and protonation state of 2-Mercaptopyridine in aqueous solution JF - Chemical physics letters N2 - The speciation of 2-Mercaptopyridine in aqueous solution has been investigated with nitrogen 1s Near Edge X-ray Absorption Fine Structure spectroscopy and time dependent Density Functional Theory. The prevalence of distinct species as a function of the solvent basicity is established. No indications of dimerization towards high concentrations are found. The determination of different molecular structures of 2-Mercaptopyridine in aqueous solution is put into the context of proton-transfer in keto-enol and thione-thiol tautomerisms. (C) 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. Y1 - 2016 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cplett.2016.01.050 SN - 0009-2614 SN - 1873-4448 VL - 647 SP - 103 EP - 106 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Schick, Daniel A1 - Eckert, Sebastian A1 - Pontius, Niko A1 - Mitzner, Rolf A1 - Föhlisch, Alexander A1 - Holldack, Karsten A1 - Sorgenfrei, Nomi T1 - Versatile soft X-ray-optical cross-correlator for ultrafast applications JF - Structural dynamics N2 - We present an X-ray-optical cross-correlator for the soft (> 150 eV) up to the hard X-ray regime based on a molybdenum-silicon superlattice. The cross-correlation is done by probing intensity and position changes of superlattice Bragg peaks caused by photoexcitation of coherent phonons. This approach is applicable for a wide range of X-ray photon energies as well as for a broad range of excitation wavelengths and requires no external fields or changes of temperature. Moreover, the cross-correlator can be employed on a 10 ps or 100 fs time scale featuring up to 50% total X-ray reflectivity and transient signal changes of more than 20%. (C) 2016 Author(s). Y1 - 2016 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4964296 SN - 2329-7778 VL - 3 SP - 054304-1 EP - 054304-8 PB - American Institute of Physics CY - Melville ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Kunnus, Kristjan A1 - Josefsson, I. A1 - Schreck, Simon Frederik A1 - Quevedo, W. A1 - Miedema, P. S. A1 - Techert, S. A1 - de Groot, F. M. F. A1 - Föhlisch, Alexander A1 - Odelius, M. A1 - Wernet, Ph. T1 - Quantifying covalent interactions with resonant inelastic soft X-ray scattering BT - case study of Ni2+ aqua complex JF - Chemical physics letters N2 - We analyze the effects of covalent interactions in Ni 2p3d resonant inelastic X-ray scattering (RIXS) spectra from aqueous Ni2+ ions and find that the relative RIXS intensities of ligand-to-metal charge-transfer final states with respect to the ligand-field final states reflect the covalent mixing between Ni 3d and water orbitals. Specifically, the experimental intensity ratio at the Ni L-3-edge allows to determine that the Ni 3d orbitals have on average 5.5% of water character. We propose that 2p3d RIXS at the Ni L-3-edge can be utilized to quantify covalency in Ni complexes without the use of external references or simulations. KW - Transition-metal ion KW - Aqueous solution KW - Covalent interaction KW - Resonant inelastic X-ray scattering KW - Ligand-field state KW - Charge-transfer state Y1 - 2016 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cplett.2016.12.046 SN - 0009-2614 SN - 1873-4448 VL - 669 SP - 196 EP - 201 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Niskanen, Johannes A1 - Jankala, Kari A1 - Huttula, Marco A1 - Föhlisch, Alexander T1 - QED effects in 1s and 2s single and double ionization potentials of the noble gases JF - The journal of chemical physics : bridges a gap between journals of physics and journals of chemistr N2 - We present calculations on the quantum electrodynamics (QED) effects in 1s and 2s single and double ionization potentials of noble gases from Ne to Rn as perturbations on relativistic four-component Dirac-Fock wavefunctions. The most dominant effect originates from the self-energy of the core-electron that yields corrections of similar order as the transverse interaction. For 1s ionization potentials, a match within few eV against the known experimental values is obtained, and our work reveals considerable QED effects in the photoelectron binding energies across the periodic table-most strikingly even for Ne. We perform power-law fits for the corrections as a function of Z and interpolate the QED correction of similar to-0.55 eV for S1s. Due to this, the K-edge electron spectra of the third row and below need QED for a match in the absolute energy when using state-of-the-art instrumentation. Published by AIP Publishing. Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4979991 SN - 0021-9606 SN - 1089-7690 VL - 146 SP - 1443 EP - 1450 PB - American Institute of Physics CY - Melville ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Niskanen, Johannes A1 - Sahle, Christoph J. A1 - Gilmore, Keith A1 - Uhlig, Frank A1 - Smiatek, Jens A1 - Föhlisch, Alexander T1 - Disentangling structural information from core-level excitation spectra JF - Physical review : E, Statistical, nonlinear and soft matter physics N2 - Core-level spectra of liquids can be difficult to interpret due to the presence of a range of local environments. We present computational methods for investigating core-level spectra based on the idea that both local structural parameters and the x-ray spectra behave as functions of the local atomic configuration around the absorbing site. We identify correlations between structural parameters and spectral intensities in defined regions of interest, using the oxygen K-edge excitation spectrum of liquid water as a test case. Our results show that this kind of analysis can find the main structure-spectral relationships of ice, liquid water, and supercritical water. Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.96.013319 SN - 2470-0045 SN - 2470-0053 VL - 96 PB - American Physical Society CY - College Park 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 - Inhester, Ludger A1 - Veedu, Sreevidya Thekku A1 - Quevedo, Wilson A1 - Pietzsch, Annette A1 - Wernet, Philippe A1 - Groenhof, Gerrit A1 - Föhlisch, Alexander A1 - Grubmueller, Helmut A1 - Techert, Simone T1 - Cationic and Anionic Impact on the Electronic Structure of Liquid Water JF - The journal of physical chemistry letters N2 - Hydration shells around ions are crucial for many fundamental biological and chemical processes. Their local physicochemical properties are quite different from those of bulk water and hard to probe experimentally. We address this problem by combining soft X-ray spectroscopy using a liquid jet and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations together with ab initio electronic structure calculations to elucidate the water ion interaction in a MgCl2 solution at the molecular level. Our results reveal that salt ions mainly affect the electronic properties of water molecules in close vicinity and that the oxygen K-edge X-ray emission spectrum of water molecules in the first solvation shell differs significantly from that of bulk water. Ion-specific effects are identified by fingerprint features in the water X-ray emission spectra. While Mg2+ ions cause a bathochromic shift of the water lone pair orbital, the 3p orbital of the Cl- ions causes an additional peak in the water emission spectrum at around 528 eV. Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jpclett.7b01392 SN - 1948-7185 VL - 8 SP - 3759 EP - 3764 PB - American Chemical Society CY - Washington ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Thielemann-Kühn, Nele A1 - Schick, Daniel A1 - Pontius, Niko A1 - Trabant, Christoph A1 - Mitzner, Rolf A1 - Holldack, Karsten A1 - Zabel, Hartmut A1 - Föhlisch, Alexander A1 - Schuessler-Langeheine, Christian T1 - Ultrafast and Energy-Efficient Quenching of Spin Order: Antiferromagnetism Beats Ferromagnetism JF - Physical review letters N2 - By comparing femtosecond laser pulse induced ferro- and antiferromagnetic dynamics in one and the same material-metallic dysprosium-we show both to behave fundamentally different. Antiferromagnetic order is considerably faster and much more efficiently reduced by optical excitation than its ferromagnetic counterpart. We assign the fast and extremely efficient process in the antiferromagnet to an interatomic transfer of angular momentum within the spin system. Our findings imply that this angular momentum transfer channel is effective in other magnetic metals with nonparallel spin alignment. They also point out a possible route towards energy-efficient spin manipulation for magnetic devices. Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.119.197202 SN - 0031-9007 SN - 1079-7114 VL - 119 PB - American Physical Society CY - College Park ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Miedema, P. S. A1 - Mitzner, Rolf A1 - Ganschow, S. A1 - Föhlisch, Alexander A1 - Beye, Martin T1 - X-ray spectroscopy on the active ion in laser crystals JF - Physical chemistry, chemical physics : a journal of European Chemical Societies N2 - The active ions in typical laser crystals were studied with Resonant Inelastic X-ray Scattering (RIXS) and Partial Fluorescence Yield X-ray Absorption (PFY-XAS) spectroscopies as solid state model systems for dilute active centers. We analyzed Ti3+ and Cr3+ in alpha-Al2O3:Ti3+ and LiCaAlF6:Cr3+, respectively. The comparison of experimental data with semi-empirical multiplet calculations provides insights into the electronic structure and shows how measured crystal field energies are related across different spectroscopies. Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1039/c7cp03026f SN - 1463-9076 SN - 1463-9084 VL - 19 SP - 21800 EP - 21806 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 - Vaz da Cruz, Vinicius A1 - Ertan, Emelie A1 - Couto, Rafael C. A1 - Eckert, Sebastian A1 - Fondell, Mattis A1 - Dantz, Marcus A1 - Kennedy, Brian A1 - Schmitt, Thorsten A1 - Pietzsch, Annette A1 - Guimaraes, Freddy F. A1 - Ågren, Hans A1 - Odelius, Michael A1 - Föhlisch, Alexander A1 - Kimberg, Victor T1 - A study of the water molecule using frequency control over nuclear dynamics in resonant X-ray scattering JF - Physical chemistry, chemical physics : a journal of European Chemical Societies N2 - 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. Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1039/c7cp01215b SN - 1463-9076 SN - 1463-9084 VL - 19 SP - 19573 EP - 19589 PB - Royal Society of Chemistry CY - Cambridge 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 - Couto, Rafael C. A1 - Cruz, Vinicius V. A1 - Ertan, Emelie A1 - Eckert, Sebastian A1 - Fondell, Mattis A1 - Dantz, Marcus A1 - Kennedy, Brian A1 - Schmitt, Thorsten A1 - Pietzsch, Annette A1 - Guimaraes, Freddy F. A1 - Agren, Hans A1 - Odelius, Michael A1 - Kimberg, Victor A1 - Föhlisch, Alexander T1 - Selective gating to vibrational modes through resonant X-ray scattering JF - Nature Communications N2 - 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. Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms14165 SN - 2041-1723 VL - 8 PB - Nature Publ. Group CY - London ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Cappel, Ute B. A1 - Svanstrom, Sebastian A1 - Lanzilotto, Valeria A1 - Johansson, Fredrik O. L. A1 - Aitola, Kerttu A1 - Philippe, Bertrand A1 - Giangrisostomi, Erika A1 - Ovsyannikov, Ruslan A1 - Leitner, Torsten A1 - Föhlisch, Alexander A1 - Svensson, Svante A1 - Martensson, Nils A1 - Boschloo, Gerrit A1 - Lindblad, Andreas A1 - Rensmo, Hakan T1 - Partially Reversible Photoinduced Chemical Changes in a Mixed-Ion Perovskite Material for Solar Cells JF - ACS applied materials & interfaces N2 - Metal halide perovskites have emerged as materials of high interest for solar energy-to-electricity conversion, and in particular, the use of mixed-ion structures has led to high power conversion efficiencies and improved stability. For this reason, it is important to develop means to obtain atomic level understanding of the photoinduced behavior of these materials including processes such as photoinduced phase separation and ion migration. In this paper, we implement a new methodology combining visible laser illumination of a mixed-ion perovskite ((FAP-bI(3))(0.85)(MAPbBr(3))(0.15)) with the element specificity and chemical sensitivity of core-level photoelectron spectroscopy. By carrying out measurements at a synchrotron beamline optimized for low X-ray fluxes, we are able to avoid sample changes due to X-ray illumination and are therefore able to monitor what sample changes are induced by visible illumination only. We find that laser illumination causes partially reversible chemistry in the surface region, including enrichment of bromide at the surface, which could be related to a phase separation into bromide- and iodide-rich phases. We also observe a partially reversible formation of metallic lead in the perovskite structure. These processes occur on the time scale of minutes during illumination. The presented methodology has a large potential for understanding light-induced chemistry in photoactive materials and could specifically be extended to systematically study the impact of morphology and composition on the photostability of metal halide perovskites. KW - photoelectron spectroscopy KW - laser illumination KW - lead halide perovskite KW - ion migration KW - phase separation KW - stability Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.7b10643 SN - 1944-8244 VL - 9 SP - 34970 EP - 34978 PB - American Chemical Society CY - Washington 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, Nomi 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 - Leitner, T. A1 - Josefsson, Ida A1 - Mazza, T. A1 - Miedema, Piter S. A1 - Schröder, H. A1 - Beye, Martin A1 - Kunnus, Kristjan A1 - Schreck, S. A1 - Düsterer, Stefan A1 - Föhlisch, Alexander A1 - Meyer, M. A1 - Odelius, Michael A1 - Wernet, Philippe T1 - Time-resolved electron spectroscopy for chemical analysis of photodissociation BT - Photoelectron spectra of Fe(CO)(5), Fe(CO)(4), and Fe(CO)(3) JF - The journal of chemical physics : bridges a gap between journals of physics and journals of chemistr N2 - 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. Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1063/1.5035149 SN - 0021-9606 SN - 1089-7690 VL - 149 IS - 4 PB - American Institute of Physics CY - Melville ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Jay, Raphael M. A1 - Norell, Jesper A1 - Eckert, Sebastian A1 - Hantschmann, Markus A1 - Beye, Martin A1 - Kennedy, Brian A1 - Quevedo, Wilson A1 - Schlotter, William F. A1 - Dakovski, Georgi L. A1 - Minitti, Michael P. A1 - Hoffmann, Matthias C. A1 - Mitra, Ankush A1 - Moeller, Stefan P. A1 - Nordlund, Dennis A1 - Zhang, Wenkai A1 - Liang, Huiyang W. A1 - Kunnus, Kristian A1 - Kubicek, Katharina A1 - Techert, Simone A. A1 - Lundberg, Marcus A1 - Wernet, Philippe A1 - Gaffney, Kelly A1 - Odelius, Michael A1 - Föhlisch, Alexander T1 - Disentangling Transient Charge Density and Metal-Ligand Covalency in Photoexcited Ferricyanide with Femtosecond Resonant Inelastic Soft X-ray Scattering JF - The journal of physical chemistry letters N2 - 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. Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jpclett.8b01429 SN - 1948-7185 VL - 9 IS - 12 SP - 3538 EP - 3543 PB - American Chemical Society CY - Washington 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 - GEN A1 - Norell, Jesper A1 - Jay, Raphael A1 - Hantschmann, Markus A1 - Eckert, Sebastian A1 - Guo, Meiyuan A1 - Gaffney, Kelly A1 - Wernet, Philippe A1 - Lundberg, Marcus A1 - Föhlisch, Alexander A1 - Odelius, Michael T1 - Fingerprints of electronic, spin and structural dynamics from resonant inelastic soft x-ray scattering in transient photo-chemical species T2 - Physical chemistry, chemical physics N2 - 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. Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1039/c7cp08326b SN - 1463-9084 IS - 20 SP - 7243 EP - 7253 PB - RSC Publ. CY - Cambridge ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Eckert, Sebastian A1 - Vaz da Cruz, Vinicius A1 - Ertan, Emelie A1 - Ignatova, Nina A1 - Polyutov, Sergey A1 - Couto, Rafael C. A1 - Fondell, Mattis A1 - Dantz, Marcus A1 - Kennedy, Brian A1 - Schmitt, Thorsten A1 - Pietzsch, Annette A1 - Odelius, Michael A1 - Föhlisch, Alexander T1 - One-dimensional cuts through multidimensional potential-energy surfaces by tunable x rays JF - Physical review : A, Atomic, molecular, and optical physics N2 - 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. Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.97.053410 SN - 2469-9926 SN - 2469-9934 VL - 97 IS - 5 PB - American Physical Society CY - College Park ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Giangrisostomi, Erika A1 - Ovsyannikov, Ruslan A1 - Sorgenfrei, Nomi A1 - Zhang, Teng A1 - Lindblad, Andreas A1 - Sassa, Yasmine A1 - Cappel, Ute B. A1 - Leitner, Torsten A1 - Mitzner, Rolf A1 - Svensson, Svante A1 - Martensson, Nils A1 - Föhlisch, Alexander T1 - Low Dose Photoelectron Spectroscopy at BESSY II BT - electronic structure of matter in its native state JF - Journal of electron spectroscopy and related phenomena : the international journal on theoretical and experimental aspects of electron spectroscopy N2 - The implementation of a high-transmission, angular-resolved time-of-Right electron spectrometer with a 1.25 MHz pulse selector at the PM4 soft X-ray dipole beamline of the synchrotron BESSY II creates unique capabilities to inquire electronic structure via photoelectron spectroscopy with a minimum of radiation dose. Solid-state samples can be prepared and characterized with standard UHV techniques and rapidly transferred from various preparation chambers to a 4-axis temperature-controlled measurement stage. A synchronized MHz laser system enables excited-state characterization and dynamical studies starting from the picosecond timescale. This article introduces the principal characteristics of the PM4 beamline and LowDosePES end-station. Recent results from graphene, an organic hole transport material for solar cells and the transition metal dichalcogenide MoS2 are presented to demonstrate the instrument performances. Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.elspec.2017.05.011 SN - 0368-2048 SN - 1873-2526 VL - 224 SP - 68 EP - 78 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Pontius, Niko A1 - Beye, Martin A1 - Trabant, Christoph A1 - Mitzner, Rolf A1 - Sorgenfrei, Nomi A1 - Kachel, Torsten A1 - Woestmann, Michael A1 - Roling, Sebastian A1 - Zacharias, Helmut A1 - Ivanov, Rosen A1 - Treusch, Rolf A1 - Buchholz, Marcel A1 - Metcalf, Pete A1 - Schuessler-Langeheine, Christian A1 - Föhlisch, Alexander T1 - Probing the non-equilibrium transient state in magnetite by a jitter-free two-color X-ray pump and X-ray probe experiment JF - Structural dynamics N2 - We present a general experimental concept for jitter-free pump and probe experiments at free electron lasers. By generating pump and probe pulse from one and the same X-ray pulse using an optical split-and-delay unit, we obtain a temporal resolution that is limited only by the X-ray pulse lengths. In a two-color X-ray pump and X-ray probe experiment with sub 70 fs temporal resolution, we selectively probe the response of orbital and charge degree of freedom in the prototypical functional oxide magnetite after photoexcitation. We find electronic order to be quenched on a time scale of (30 +/- 30) fs and hence most likely faster than what is to be expected for any lattice dynamics. Our experimental result hints to the formation of a short lived transient state with decoupled electronic and lattice degree of freedom in magnetite. The excitation and relaxation mechanism for X-ray pumping is discussed within a simple model leading to the conclusion that within the first 10 fs the original photoexcitation decays into low-energy electronic excitations comparable to what is achieved by optical pump pulse excitation. Our findings show on which time scales dynamical decoupling of degrees of freedom in functional oxides can be expected and how to probe this selectively with soft X-ray pulses. Results can be expected to provide crucial information for theories for ultrafast behavior of materials and help to develop concepts for novel switching devices. (C) 2018 Author(s). Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1063/1.5042847 SN - 2329-7778 VL - 5 IS - 5 PB - American Institute of Physics CY - Melville ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Decker, Régis A1 - Born, Artur A1 - Büchner, Robby A1 - Ruotsalainen, Kari A1 - Stråhlman, Christian A1 - Neppl, Stefan A1 - Haverkamp, Robert A1 - Pietzsch, Annette A1 - Föhlisch, Alexander T1 - Measuring the atomic spin-flip scattering rate by x-ray emission spectroscopy JF - Scientific reports N2 - While extensive work has been dedicated to the measurement of the demagnetization time following an ultra-short laser pulse, experimental studies of its underlying microscopic mechanisms are still scarce. In transition metal ferromagnets, one of the main mechanism is the spin-flip of conduction electrons driven by electron-phonon scattering. Here, we present an original experimental method to monitor the electron-phonon mediated spin-flip scattering rate in nickel through the stringent atomic symmetry selection rules of x-ray emission spectroscopy. Increasing the phonon population leads to a waning of the 3d -> 2p(3/2) decay peak intensity, which reflects an increase of the angular momentum transfer scattering rate attributed to spin-flip. We find a spin relaxation time scale in the order of 50 fs in the 3d-band of nickel at room temperature, while consistantly, no such peak evolution is observed for the diamagnetic counterexample copper, using the same method. Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-45242-8 SN - 2045-2322 VL - 9 PB - Nature Publ. Group CY - London ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Liu, Ji-Cai A1 - Vaz da Cruz, Vinicius A1 - Polyutov, Sergey A1 - Föhlisch, Alexander T1 - Recoil-induced dissociation in hard-x-ray photoionization JF - Physical review : A, Atomic, molecular, and optical physics N2 - We predict the recoil-induced molecular dissociation in hard-x-ray photoionization. The recoil effect is caused by electronic and photon momentum exchange with the molecule. We show the strong role of relativistic effects for the studied molecular fragmentation. The recoil-induced fragmentation of the molecule is caused by elongation of the bond due to the vibrational recoil effect and because of the centrifugal force caused by the rotational recoil. The calculations of the x-ray photoelectron spectra of the H-2 and NO molecules show that the predicted effects can be observed in high-energy synchrotrons like SOLEIL, SPring-8, PETRA, and XFEL SACLA. The relativistic effect enhances the recoil momentum transfer and makes it strongly sensitive to the direction of ejection of the fast photoelectron with respect to the photon momentum. Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.100.053408 SN - 2469-9926 SN - 2469-9934 VL - 100 IS - 5 PB - American Physical Society CY - College Park ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Norell, Jesper A1 - Eckert, Sebastian A1 - Van Kuiken, Benjamin E. A1 - Föhlisch, Alexander A1 - Odelius, Michael T1 - Ab initio simulations of complementary K-edges and solvatization effects for detection of proton transfer in aqueous 2-thiopyridone JF - The journal of chemical physics : bridges a gap between journals of physics and journals of chemistr N2 - 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. Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1063/1.5109840 SN - 0021-9606 SN - 1089-7690 VL - 151 IS - 11 PB - American Institute of Physics CY - Melville ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Niskanen, Johannes A1 - Fondell, Mattis A1 - Sahle, Christoph J. A1 - Eckert, Sebastian A1 - Jay, Raphael Martin A1 - Gilmore, Keith A1 - Pietzsch, Annette A1 - Dantz, Marcus A1 - Lu, Xingye A1 - McNally, Daniel E. A1 - Schmitt, Thorsten A1 - Vaz da Cruz, Vinicius A1 - Kimberg, Victor A1 - Föhlisch, Alexander A1 - Gel’mukhanov, Faris T1 - Compatibility of quantitative X-ray spectroscopy with continuous distribution models of water at ambient conditions JF - Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America N2 - The phase diagram of water harbors controversial views on underlying structural properties of its constituting molecular moieties, its fluctuating hydrogen-bonding network, as well as pair-correlation functions. In this work, long energy-range detection of the X-ray absorption allows us to unambiguously calibrate the spectra for water gas, liquid, and ice by the experimental atomic ionization cross-section. In liquid water, we extract the mean value of 1.74 +/- 2.1% donated and accepted hydrogen bonds per molecule, pointing to a continuous-distribution model. In addition, resonant inelastic X-ray scattering with unprecedented energy resolution also supports continuous distribution of molecular neighborhoods within liquid water, as do X-ray emission spectra once the femtosecond scattering duration and proton dynamics in resonant X-ray-matter interaction are taken into account. Thus, X-ray spectra of liquid water in ambient conditions can be understood without a two-structure model, whereas the occurrence of nanoscale-length correlations within the continuous distribution remains open. KW - structure of water KW - X-ray spectroscopy KW - continuous distribution model Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1815701116 SN - 0027-8424 VL - 116 IS - 10 SP - 4058 EP - 4063 PB - National Acad. of Sciences CY - Washington ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Vaz da Cruz, Vinicius A1 - Eckert, Sebastian A1 - Iannuzzi, Marcella A1 - Ertan, Emelie A1 - Pietzsch, Annette A1 - Couto, Rafael C. A1 - Niskanen, Johannes A1 - Fondell, Mattis A1 - Dantz, Marcus A1 - Schmitt, Thorsten A1 - Lu, Xingye A1 - McNally, Daniel A1 - Jay, Raphael Martin A1 - Kimberg, Victor A1 - Föhlisch, Alexander A1 - Odelius, Michael T1 - Probing hydrogen bond strength in liquid water by resonant inelastic X-ray scattering JF - Nature Communications N2 - 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. Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-019-08979-4 SN - 2041-1723 VL - 10 PB - Nature Publ. Group CY - London ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Eckert, Sebastian A1 - Norell, Jesper A1 - Jay, Raphael Martin A1 - Fondell, Mattis A1 - Mitzner, Rolf A1 - Odelius, Michael A1 - Föhlisch, Alexander T1 - T-1 Population as the Driver of Excited-State Proton-Transfer in 2-Thiopyridone JF - Chemistry - a European journal N2 - 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. KW - excited-state proton-transfer KW - intersystem crossing KW - nitrogen KW - photochemistry KW - X-ray absorption Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1002/chem.201804166 SN - 0947-6539 SN - 1521-3765 VL - 25 IS - 7 SP - 1733 EP - 1739 PB - Wiley-VCH CY - Weinheim ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Jay, Raphael Martin A1 - Eckert, Sebastian A1 - Vaz da Cruz, Vinicius A1 - Fondell, Mattis A1 - Mitzner, Rolf A1 - Föhlisch, Alexander T1 - Covalency-driven preservation of local charge densities in a metal-to-ligand charge-transfer excited iron photosensitizer JF - Angewandte Chemie : a journal of the Gesellschaft Deutscher Chemiker ; International edition N2 - Charge-density rearrangements after metal-to-ligand charge-transfer excitation in an iron photosensitizer are investigated by R. M Jay, A. Fohlisch et al. in their Communication (DOI: 10.1002/anie.201904761). By using time-resolved X-ray absorption spectroscopy, surprising covalency-effects are revealed that inhibit charge-separation at the intra-molecular level. Furthermore, the underlying mechanism is proposed to be generally in effect for all commonly used photosensitizers in light-harvesting applications, which challenges the common perception of electronic charge-transfer. KW - charge-transfer KW - density functional calculations KW - iron KW - photochemistry KW - X-ray absorption spectroscopy Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.201904761 SN - 1433-7851 SN - 1521-3773 VL - 58 IS - 31 SP - 10742 EP - 10746 PB - Wiley-VCH CY - Weinheim ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Vaz da Cruz, Vinícius A1 - Ignatova, Nina A1 - Couto, Rafael A1 - Fedotov, Daniil A1 - Rehn, Dirk R. A1 - Savchenko, Viktoriia A1 - Norman, Patrick A1 - Ågren, Hans A1 - Polyutov, Sergey A1 - Niskanen, Johannes A1 - Eckert, Sebastian A1 - Jay, Raphael Martin A1 - Fondell, Mattis A1 - Schmitt, Thorsten A1 - Pietzsch, Annette A1 - Föhlisch, Alexander A1 - Odelius, Michael A1 - Kimberg, Victor A1 - Gel’mukhanov, Faris T1 - Nuclear dynamics in resonant inelastic X-ray scattering and X-ray absorption of methanol JF - The journal of chemical physics : bridges a gap between journals of physics and journals of chemistr N2 - 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). Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1063/1.5092174 SN - 0021-9606 SN - 1089-7690 VL - 150 IS - 23 PB - American Institute of Physics CY - Melville ER - TY - GEN A1 - Niskanen, Johannes A1 - Fondell, Mattis A1 - Sahle, Christoph J. A1 - Eckert, Sebastian A1 - Jay, Raphael Martin A1 - Gilmore, Keith A1 - Pietzsch, Annette A1 - Dantz, Marcus A1 - Lu, Xingye A1 - McNally, Daniel E. A1 - Schmitt, Thorsten A1 - Vaz da Cruz, Vinicius A1 - Kimberg, Victor A1 - Föhlisch, Alexander T1 - Reply to Pettersson et al.: Why X-ray spectral features are compatible to continuous distribution models in ambient water T2 - Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1909551116 SN - 0027-8424 VL - 116 IS - 35 SP - 17158 EP - 17159 PB - National Acad. of Sciences CY - Washington ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Kühn, Danilo A1 - Müller, Moritz A1 - Sorgenfrei, Nomi A1 - Giangrisostomi, Erika A1 - Jay, Raphael Martin A1 - Ovsyannikov, Ruslan A1 - Martensson, Nils A1 - Sanchez-Portal, Daniel A1 - Föhlisch, Alexander T1 - Directional sub-femtosecond charge transfer dynamics and the dimensionality of 1T-TaS2 JF - Scientific reports N2 - For the layered transition metal dichalcogenide 1T-TaS2, we establish through a unique experimental approach and density functional theory, how ultrafast charge transfer in 1T-TaS2 takes on isotropic three-dimensional character or anisotropic two-dimensional character, depending on the commensurability of the charge density wave phases of 1T-TaS2. The X-ray spectroscopic core-hole-clock method prepares selectively in-and out-of-plane polarized sulfur 3p orbital occupation with respect to the 1T-TaS2 planes and monitors sub-femtosecond wave packet delocalization. Despite being a prototypical two-dimensional material, isotropic three-dimensional charge transfer is found in the commensurate charge density wave phase (CCDW), indicating strong coupling between layers. In contrast, anisotropic two-dimensional charge transfer occurs for the nearly commensurate phase (NCDW). In direct comparison, theory shows that interlayer interaction in the CCDW phase - not layer stacking variations - causes isotropic three-dimensional charge transfer. This is presumably a general mechanism for phase transitions and tailored properties of dichalcogenides with charge density waves. Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-36637-0 SN - 2045-2322 VL - 9 IS - 488 PB - Nature Publ. Group CY - London ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Kühn, Danilo A1 - Giangrisostomi, Erika A1 - Jay, Raphael Martin A1 - Sorgenfrei, Nomi A1 - Föhlisch, Alexander T1 - The influence of x-ray pulse length on space-charge effects in optical pump/x-ray probe photoemission JF - New journal of physics : the open-access journal for physics N2 - Pump-probe photoelectron spectroscopy (PES) is a versatile tool to investigate the dynamics of transient states of excited matter. Vacuum space-charge effects can mask these dynamics and complicate the interpretation of electron spectra. Here we report on space-charge effects in Au 4f photoemission from a polycrystalline gold surface, excited with moderately intense 90 ps (FWHM) soft x-ray probe pulses, under the influence of the Coulomb forces exerted by a pump electron cloud, which was produced by intense 40 fs laser pulses. The experimentally observed kinetic energy shift and spectral broadening of the Au 4f lines, measured with highly-efficient time-of-flight spectroscopy, are in good agreement with simulations utilizing a mean-field model of the electrostatic pump electron potential. This confirms that the line broadening is predominantly caused by variations in the take-off time of the probe electrons without appreciable influence of local scattering events. Our findings might be of general interest for pump-probe PES with picosecond-pulse-length sources. KW - space-charge effects KW - mean-field model KW - x-ray photoemission KW - electron spectroscopy KW - pump-probe KW - ARTOF Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1088/1367-2630/ab2f5c SN - 1367-2630 VL - 21 PB - IOP Publ. Ltd. CY - Bristol ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Jay, Raphael M. A1 - Vaz da Cruz, Vinicius A1 - Eckert, Sebastian A1 - Fondell, Mattis A1 - Mitzner, Rolf A1 - Föhlisch, Alexander T1 - Probing solute-solvent interactions of transition metal complexes using L-edge absorption spectroscopy JF - The journal of physical chemistry : B, Condensed matter, materials, surfaces, interfaces & biophysical chemistry N2 - In order to tailor solution-phase chemical reactions involving transition metal complexes, it is critical to understand how their valence electronic charge distributions are affected by the solution environment. Here, solute-solvent interactions of a solvatochromic mixed-ligand iron complex were investigated using X-ray absorption spectroscopy at the transition metal L-2,L-3-edge. Due to the selectivity of the corresponding core excitations to the iron 3d orbitals, the method grants direct access to the valence electronic structure around the iron center and its response to interactions with the solvent environment. A linear increase of the total L-2,L-3-edge absorption cross section as a function of the solvent Lewis acidity is revealed. The effect is caused by relative changes in different metal-ligand-bonding channels, which preserve local charge densities while increasing the density of unoccupied states around the iron center. These conclusions are corroborated by a combination of molecular dynamics and spectrum simulations based on time-dependent density functional theory. The simulations reproduce the spectral trends observed in the X-ray but also optical absorption experiments. Our results underscore the importance of solute-solvent interactions when aiming for an accurate description of the valence electronic structure of solvated transition metal complexes and demonstrate how L-2,L-3-edge absorption spectroscopy can aid in understanding the impact of the solution environment on intramolecular covalency and the electronic charge distribution. KW - basis-sets KW - charge-transfer KW - density KW - dynamics KW - electron localization KW - iron KW - solvation KW - spin-crossover KW - tranfer excited-state KW - x-ray-absorption Y1 - 2020 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jpcb.0c00638 SN - 1520-6106 SN - 1520-5207 VL - 124 IS - 27 SP - 5636 EP - 5645 PB - American Chemical Society CY - Washington ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Jay, Raphael M. A1 - Eckert, Sebastian A1 - Mitzner, Rolf A1 - Fondell, Mattis A1 - Föhlisch, Alexander T1 - Quantitative evaluation of transient valence orbital occupations in a 3d transition metal complex as seen from the metal and ligand perspective JF - Chemical physics letters N2 - It is demonstrated for the case of photo-excited ferrocyanide how time-resolved soft X-ray absorption spectroscopy in transmission geometry at the ligand K-edge and metal L-3-edge provides quantitatively equivalent valence electronic structure information, where signatures of photo-oxidation are assessed locally at the metal as well as the ligand. This allows for a direct and independent quantification of the number of photo-oxidized molecules at two soft X-ray absorption edges highlighting the sensitivity of X-ray absorption spectroscopy to the valence orbital occupation of 3d transition metal complexes throughout the soft X-ray range. KW - iron cyanides KW - photochemistry KW - soft X-ray absorption Y1 - 2020 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cplett.2020.137681 SN - 0009-2614 SN - 1873-4448 VL - 754 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Decker, Regis A1 - Born, Artur A1 - Ruotsalainen, Kari A1 - Bauer, Karl A1 - Haverkamp, Robert A1 - Büchner, Robby A1 - Pietzsch, Annette A1 - Föhlisch, Alexander T1 - Spin-lattice angular momentum transfer of localized and valence electrons in the demagnetization transient state of gadolinium JF - Applied physics letters N2 - The electron-phonon scattering is one of the main microscopic mechanisms responsible for the spin-flip in the transient state of ultrafast demagnetization. Here, we present an experimental determination of the temperature-dependent electron-phonon scattering rate in Gd. Using a static x-ray emission spectroscopy method, where the reduction of the decay peak intensities when increasing the temperature is quantified, we measure independently the electron-phonon scattering rate for the 5d and the 4f electrons. We deduce the temperature dependence of scattering for the 5d electrons, while no effect on the phonon population is observed for the 4f electrons. Our results suggest that the ultrafast magnetization dynamics in Gd is triggered by the spin-flip in the 5d electrons. We also evidence the existence of a temperature threshold, above which spin-flip scattering of the 5d electrons takes place. We deduce that during the transient state of ultrafast demagnetization, the exchange energy between 5d electrons has to be overcome before the microscopic electron-phonon scattering process can occur. Y1 - 2021 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0063404 SN - 0003-6951 SN - 1077-3118 VL - 119 IS - 15 PB - AIP Publishing CY - Melville ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Born, Artur A1 - Decker, Regis A1 - Haverkamp, Robert A1 - Ruotsalainen, Kari A1 - Bauer, Karl A1 - Pietzsch, Annette A1 - Föhlisch, Alexander A1 - Büchner, Robby T1 - Thresholding of the Elliott-Yafet spin-flip scattering in multi-sublattice magnets by the respective exchange energies JF - Scientific reports N2 - How different microscopic mechanisms of ultrafast spin dynamics coexist and interplay is not only relevant for the development of spintronics but also for the thorough description of physical systems out-of-equilibrium. In pure crystalline ferromagnets, one of the main microscopic mechanism of spin relaxation is the electron-phonon (el-ph) driven spin-flip, or Elliott-Yafet, scattering. Unexpectedly, recent experiments with ferro- and ferrimagnetic alloys have shown different dynamics for the different sublattices. These distinct sublattice dynamics are contradictory to the Elliott-Yafet scenario. In order to rationalize this discrepancy, it has been proposed that the intra- and intersublattice exchange interaction energies must be considered in the microscopic demagnetization mechanism, too. Here, using a temperature-dependent x-ray emission spectroscopy (XES) method, we address experimentally the element specific el-ph angular momentum transfer rates, responsible for the spin-flips in the respective (sub)lattices of Fe20Ni80, Fe50Ni50 and pure nickel single crystals. We establish how the deduced rate evolution with the temperature is linked to the exchange coupling constants reported for different alloy stoichiometries and how sublattice exchange energies threshold the related el-ph spin-flip channels. Thus, these results evidence that the Elliott-Yafet spin-flip scattering, thresholded by sublattice exchange energies, is the relevant microscopic process to describe sublattice dynamics in alloys and elemental magnetic systems. Y1 - 2021 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-81177-9 SN - 2045-2322 VL - 11 IS - 1 PB - Springer Nature CY - Berlin ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Büchner, Robby A1 - Fondell, Mattis A1 - Mascarenhas, Eric Johnn A1 - Pietzsch, Annette A1 - Vaz da Cruz, Vinícius A1 - Föhlisch, Alexander T1 - How hydrogen bonding amplifies isomeric differences in pyridones toward strong changes in acidity and tautomerism JF - The journal of physical chemistry : B, Condensed matter, materials, surfaces, interfaces & biophysical chemistry N2 - Steric hindrance of hydration and hydrogen bond enhancement by localized charges have been identified as key factors for the massive chemical differences between the hydroxypyridine/pyridone isomers in aqueous solution. While all isomers occur mainly in the hydroxypyridine form in the gas phase, they differ by more than 3 orders of magnitude both in their acidity and tautomeric equilibrium constants upon hydration. By monitoring the electronic and solvation structures as a function of the protonation state and the O- substitution position on the pyridine ring, the amplification of the isomeric differences in aqueous solution has been investigated. Near-edge X-ray absorption fine structure (NEXAFS) measurements at the N K-edge served as the probe of the chemical state. The combination of molecular dynamics simulations, complete active space self-consistent field (CASSCF), and time-dependent density functional theory (TD-DFT) spectral calculations contributes to unraveling the principles of tautomerism and acidity in multiple biochemical systems based on tautomerism. Y1 - 2021 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jpcb.0c10873 SN - 1520-6106 SN - 1520-5207 VL - 125 IS - 9 SP - 2372 EP - 2379 PB - American Chemical Society CY - Washington ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Büchner, Robby A1 - Fondell, Mattis A1 - Haverkamp, Robert A1 - Pietzsch, Annette A1 - Vaz da Cruz, Vinícius A1 - Föhlisch, Alexander T1 - The porphyrin center as a regulator for metal-ligand covalency and pi hybridization in the entire molecule JF - Physical chemistry, chemical physics : PCCP ; a journal of European Chemical Societies N2 - The central moiety of porphyrins is shown to control the charge state of the inner complex and links it by covalent interaction to the peripheral substituents. This link, which enables the versatile functions of porphyrins, is not picked up in the established, reduced four orbital picture [Gouterman, J. Mol. Spectrosc., 1961, 6, 138]. X-ray absorption spectroscopy at the N K-edge with density functional theory approaches gives access to the full electronic structure, in particular the pi* manifold beyond the Gouterman orbitals. Systematic variation of the central moiety highlights two linked, governing trends: The ionicity of the porphyrin center increases from the aminic N-H to N-Cu to N-Zn to N-Mg to the iminic N:. At the same time covalency with peripheral substituents increases and compensates the buildup of high charge density at the coordinated nitrogen sites. Y1 - 2021 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1039/d1cp03944j SN - 1463-9076 SN - 1463-9084 VL - 23 IS - 43 SP - 24765 EP - 24772 PB - Royal Society of Chemistry CY - Cambridge ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Eckert, Sebastian A1 - Vaz da Cruz, Vinícius A1 - Ochmann, Miguel A1 - Ahnen, Inga von A1 - Föhlisch, Alexander A1 - Huse, Nils T1 - Breaking the symmetry of pyrimidine BT - solvent effects and core-excited state dynamics JF - The journal of physical chemistry letters N2 - Symmetry and its breaking crucially define the chemical properties of molecules and their functionality. Resonant inelastic X-ray scattering is a local electronic structure probe reporting on molecular symmetry and its dynamical breaking within the femtosecond scattering duration. Here, we study pyrimidine, a system from the C-2v point group, in an aqueous solution environment, using scattering though its 2a(2) resonance. Despite the absence of clean parity selection rules for decay transitions from in-plane orbitals, scattering channels including decay from the 7b(2) and 11a(1) orbitals with nitrogen lone pair character are a direct probe for molecular symmetry. Computed spectra of explicitly solvated molecules sampled from a molecular dynamics simulation are combined with the results of a quantum dynamical description of the X-ray scattering process. We observe dominant signatures of core-excited Jahn-Teller induced symmetry breaking for resonant excitation. Solvent contributions are separable by shortening of the effective scattering duration through excitation energy detuning. Y1 - 2021 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jpclett.1c01865 SN - 1948-7185 VL - 12 IS - 35 SP - 8637 EP - 8643 PB - American Chemical Society CY - Washington ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Vaz da Cruz, Vinícius A1 - Eckert, Sebastian A1 - Föhlisch, Alexander T1 - TD-DFT simulations of K-edge resonant inelastic X-ray scattering within the restricted subspace approximation JF - Physical chemistry, chemical physics : PCCP ; a journal of European Chemical Societies N2 - A scheme for simulations of resonant inelastic X-ray scattering (RIXS) cross-sections within time-dependent density functional theory (TD-DFT) applying the restricted subspace approximation (RSA) is presented. Therein both occupied core and valence Kohn-Sham orbitals are included in the donor-space, while the accepting virtual orbital space in the linear response TD-DFT equations is restricted to efficiently compute both the valence- and core-excited states of the many electron system. This yields a consistent description of all states contributing to the RIXS scattering process within a single calculation. The introduced orbital truncation allows to automatize the method and facilitates RIXS simulations for systems considerably larger than ones accessible with wave-function based methods. Using the nitrogen K-edge RIXS spectra of 2-thiopyridone and its deprotonated anion as a showcase, the method is benchmarked for different exchange-correlation functionals, the impact of the RSA is evaluated, and the effects of explicit solvation are discussed. Improvements compared to simulations in the frozen orbital approximation are also assessed. The general applicability of the framework is further tested by comparison to experimental data from the literature. The use of TD-DFT core-excited states to the calculation of vibrationally resolved RIXS spectra is also investigated by combining potential energy scans along relevant coordinates with wave packet simulations. Y1 - 2020 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1039/d0cp04726k SN - 1463-9076 SN - 1463-9084 VL - 23 IS - 3 SP - 1835 EP - 1848 PB - Royal Society of Chemistry CY - Cambridge ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Sorgenfrei, Nomi A1 - Giangrisostomi, Erika A1 - Jay, Raphael Martin A1 - Kühn, Danilo A1 - Neppl, Stefan A1 - Ovsyannikov, Ruslan A1 - Sezen, Hikmet A1 - Svensson, Svante A1 - Föhlisch, Alexander T1 - Photodriven transient picosecond top-layer semiconductor to metal phase-transition in p-doped molybdenum disulfide JF - Advanced materials N2 - Visible light is shown to create a transient metallic S-Mo-S surface layer on bulk semiconducting p-doped indirect-bandgap 2H-MoS2. Optically created electron-hole pairs separate in the surface band bending region of the p-doped semiconducting crystal causing a transient accumulation of electrons in the surface region. This triggers a reversible 2H-semiconductor to 1T-metal phase-transition of the surface layer. Electron-phonon coupling of the indirect-bandgap p-doped 2H-MoS2 enables this efficient pathway even at a low density of excited electrons with a distinct optical excitation threshold and saturation behavior. This mechanism needs to be taken into consideration when describing the surface properties of illuminated p-doped 2H-MoS2. In particular, light-induced increased charge mobility and surface activation can cause and enhance the photocatalytic and photoassisted electrochemical hydrogen evolution reaction of water on 2H-MoS2. Generally, it opens up for a way to control not only the surface of p-doped 2H-MoS2 but also related dichalcogenides and layered systems. The findings are based on the sensitivity of time-resolved electron spectroscopy for chemical analysis with photon-energy-tuneable synchrotron radiation. KW - catalysis KW - dichalcogenides KW - hydrogen evolution reaction KW - phase transitions KW - photoelectron spectroscopy Y1 - 2021 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.202006957 SN - 0935-9648 SN - 1521-4095 VL - 33 IS - 14 PB - Wiley-VCH CY - Weinheim ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Haverkamp, Robert A1 - Sorgenfrei, Nomi A1 - Giangrisostomi, Erika A1 - Neppl, Stefan A1 - Kühn, Danilo A1 - Föhlisch, Alexander T1 - Directional charge delocalization dynamics in semiconducting 2H-MoS2 and metallic 1T-LixMoS2 JF - Scientific reports N2 - The layered dichalcogenide MoS2 is relevant for electrochemical Li adsorption/intercalation, in the course of which the material undergoes a concomitant structural phase transition from semiconducting 2H-MoS2 to metallic 1T-LixMoS2. With the core hole clock approach at the S L1 X-ray absorption edge we quantify the ultrafast directional charge transfer of excited S3p electrons in-plane () and out-of-plane (perpendicular to) for 2H-MoS2 as tau 2H,=0.38 +/- 0.08 fs and tau 2H,perpendicular to =0.33 +/- 0.06 fs and for 1T-LixMoS2 as tau 1T,=0.32 +/- 0.12 fs and tau 1T,perpendicular to =0.09 +/- 0.07 fs. The isotropic charge delocalization of S3p electrons in the semiconducting 2H phase within the S-Mo-S sheets is assigned to the specific symmetry of the Mo-S bonding arrangement. Formation of 1T-LixMoS2 by lithiation accelerates the in-plane charge transfer by a factor of similar to 1.2 due to electron injection to the Mo-S covalent bonds and concomitant structural repositioning of S atoms within the S-Mo-S sheets. For excitation into out-of-plane orbitals, an accelerated charge transfer by a factor of similar to 3.7 upon lithiation occurs due to S-Li coupling. Y1 - 2021 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-86364-2 SN - 2045-2322 VL - 11 IS - 1 PB - Macmillan Publishers Limited, part of Springer Nature CY - London ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Hantschmann, Markus A1 - Föhlisch, Alexander T1 - A rate model approach for FEL pulse induced transmissions changes, saturable absorption, X-ray transparency and stimulated emission JF - Journal of electron spectroscopy and related phenomena : the international journal on theoretical and experimental aspects of electron spectroscopy N2 - As the use of free electron laser (FEL) sources increases, so do the findings mentioning non-linear phenomena occurring at these experiments, such as saturable absorption, induced transparency and scattering breakdowns. These are well known among the laser community, but are still rarely understood and expected among the X-ray community and to date lack tools and theories to accurately predict the respective experimental parameters and results. We present a simple theoretical framework to access short X-ray pulse induced light- matter interactions which occur at intense short X-ray pulses as available at FEL sources. Our approach allows to investigate effects such as saturable absorption, induced transparency and scattering suppression, stimulated emission, and transmission spectra, while including the density of state influence relevant to soft X-ray spectroscopy in, for example, transition metal complexes or functional materials. This computationally efficient rate model based approach is intuitively adaptable to most solid state sample systems in the soft X-ray spectrum with the potential to be extended for liquid and gas sample systems as well. The feasibility of the model to estimate the named effects and the influence of the density of state is demonstrated using the example of CoPd transition metal systems at the Co edge. We believe this work is an important contribution for the preparation, performance, and understanding of FEL based high intensity and short pulse experiments, especially on functional materials in the soft X-ray spectrum. KW - Free-electron-laser science KW - RIXS at FELs KW - Stimulated scattering KW - Pulse induced transparency KW - Scattering breakdown Y1 - 2022 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.elspec.2021.147139 SN - 0368-2048 VL - 256 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Martensson, Nils A1 - Föhlisch, Alexander A1 - Svensson, Svante T1 - Uppsala and Berkeley BT - two essential laboratories in the development of modern photoelectron spectroscopy JF - Journal of vacuum science & technology : JVST ; an AVS journal / A N2 - The development of modern photoelectron spectroscopy is reviewed with a special focus on the importance of research at Uppsala University and at Berkeley. The influence of two pioneers, Kai Siegbahn and Dave Shirley, is underlined. Early interaction between the two centers helped to kick-start the field. Both laboratories have continued to play an important role in the field, both in terms of creating new experimental capabilities and developing the theoretical understanding of the spectroscopic processes. KW - Electronic structure KW - Condensed matter physics KW - X-ray emission spectroscopy KW - Electron spectroscopy KW - Photoelectron spectroscopy KW - Nuclear physics KW - Storage rings KW - Synchrotron radiation KW - Gas phase KW - Surface science Y1 - 2022 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1116/6.0001879 SN - 0734-2101 SN - 1520-8559 VL - 40 IS - 4 PB - American Institute of Physics CY - New York ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Liu, Chun-Yu A1 - Ruotsalainen, Kari A1 - Bauer, Karl A1 - Decker, Régis A1 - Pietzsch, Annette A1 - Föhlisch, Alexander T1 - Excited-state exchange interaction in NiO determined by high-resolution resonant inelastic x-ray scattering at the Ni M2,3 edges JF - Physical review : B, Condensed matter and materials physics N2 - The electronic and magnetic excitations of bulk NiO have been determined using the 3A2g to 3T2g crystal-field transition at the Ni M2,3 edges with resonant inelastic x-ray scattering at 66.3- and 67.9-eV photon energies and 33-meV spectral resolution. Unambiguous assignment of the high-energy side of this state to a spin-flip satellite is achieved. We extract an effective exchange field of 89±4 meV in the 3T2g excited final state from empirical two-peak spin-flip model. The experimental data is found consistent with crystal-field model calculations using exchange fields of 60–100 meV. Full agreement with crystal-field multiplet calculations is achieved for the incident photon energy dependence of line shapes. The lower exchange parameter in the excited state as compared to the ground-state value of 120 meV is discussed in terms of the modification of the orbital occupancy (electronic effects) and of the structural dynamics: (A) With pure electronic effects, the lower exchange energy is attributed to the reduction in effective hopping integral. (B) With no electronic effects, we use the S = 1 Heisenberg model of antiferromagnetism to derive a second-nearest-neighbor exchange constant J2 = 14.8±0.6 meV. Based on the linear correlation between J2 and the lattice parameter from pressure-dependent experiments, an upper limit of 2% local Ni-O bond elongation during the femtosecond scattering duration is derived. Y1 - 2022 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.106.035104 SN - 2469-9950 SN - 2469-9969 VL - 106 IS - 3 PB - American Physical Society CY - Ridge, NY ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Pietzsch, Annette A1 - Niskanen, Johannes A1 - Vaz da Cruz, Vinicius A1 - Büchner, Robby A1 - Eckert, Sebastian A1 - Fondell, Mattis A1 - Jay, Raphael Martin A1 - Lu, Xingye A1 - McNally, Daniel A1 - Schmitt, Thorsten A1 - Föhlisch, Alexander T1 - Cuts through the manifold of molecular H2O potential energy surfaces in liquid water at ambient conditions JF - Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America N2 - The fluctuating hydrogen bridge bonded network of liquid water at ambient conditions entails a varied ensemble of the underlying constituting H2O molecular moieties. This is mirrored in a manifold of the H2O molecular potentials. Subnatural line width resonant inelastic X-ray scattering allowed us to quantify the manifold of molecular potential energy surfaces along the H2O symmetric normal mode and the local asymmetric O-H bond coordinate up to 1 and 1.5 angstrom, respectively. The comparison of the single H2O molecular potentials and spectroscopic signatures with the ambient conditions liquid phase H2O molecular potentials is done on various levels. In the gas phase, first principles, Morse potentials, and stepwise harmonic potential reconstruction have been employed and benchmarked. In the liquid phase the determination of the potential energy manifold along the local asymmetric O-H bond coordinate from resonant inelastic X-ray scattering via the bound state oxygen ls to 4a(1) resonance is treated within these frameworks. The potential energy surface manifold along the symmetric stretch from resonant inelastic X-ray scattering via the oxygen 1 s to 2b(2) resonance is based on stepwise harmonic reconstruction. We find in liquid water at ambient conditions H2O molecular potentials ranging from the weak interaction limit to strongly distorted potentials which are put into perspective to established parameters, i.e., intermolecular O-H, H-H, and O-O correlation lengths from neutron scattering. KW - water KW - potential ene rgy surface KW - RIXS Y1 - 2022 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2118101119 SN - 1091-6490 VL - 119 IS - 28 PB - National Acad. of Sciences CY - Washington, DC ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Mascarenhas, Eric Johnn A1 - Fondell, Mattis A1 - Büchner, Robby A1 - Eckert, Sebastian A1 - Vaz da Cruz, Vinícius A1 - Föhlisch, Alexander T1 - Photo-induced ligand substitution of Cr(CO)(6) in 1-pentanol probed by time resolved X-ray absorption spectroscopy JF - Physical chemistry, chemical physics : a journal of European Chemical Societies N2 - Cr(CO)(6) was investigated by X-ray absorption spectroscopy. The spectral signature at the metal edge provides information about the back-bonding of the metal in this class of complexes. Among the processes it participates in is ligand substitution in which a carbonyl ligand is ejected through excitation to a metal to ligand charge transfer (MLCT) band. The unsaturated carbonyl Cr(CO)(5) is stabilized by solution media in square pyramidal geometry and further reacts with the solvent. Multi-site-specific probing after photoexcitation was used to investigate the ligand substitution photoreaction process which is a common first step in catalytic processes involving metal carbonyls. The data were analysed with the aid of TD-DFT computations for different models of photoproducts and signatures for ligand rearrangement after substitution were found. The rearrangement was found to occur in about 790 ps in agreement with former studies of the photoreaction. Y1 - 2022 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1039/d1cp05834g SN - 1463-9076 SN - 1463-9084 VL - 24 IS - 30 SP - 17979 EP - 17985 PB - Royal Society of Chemistry CY - Cambridge ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Vaz da Cruz, Vinicius A1 - Büchner, Robby A1 - Fondell, Mattis A1 - Pietzsch, Annette A1 - Eckert, Sebastian A1 - Föhlisch, Alexander T1 - Targeting individual tautomers in equilibrium by resonant inelastic X-ray scattering JF - The journal of physical chemistry letters N2 - Tautomerism is one of the most important forms of isomerism, owing to the facile interconversion between species and the large differences in chemical properties introduced by the proton transfer connecting the tautomers. Spectroscopic techniques are often used for the characterization of tautomers. In this context, separating the overlapping spectral response of coexisting tautomers is a long-standing challenge in chemistry. Here, we demonstrate that by using resonant inelastic X-ray scattering tuned to the core excited states at the site of proton exchange between tautomers one is able to experimentally disentangle the manifold of valence excited states of each tautomer in a mixture. The technique is applied to the prototypical keto-enol equilibrium of 3-hydroxypyridine in aqueous solution. We detect transitions from the occupied orbitals into the LUMO for each tautomer in solution, which report on intrinsic and hydrogen-bond-induced orbital polarization within the pi and sigma manifolds at the proton-transfer site. KW - Equilibrium KW - Molecular structure KW - Molecules KW - Nitrogen KW - Solvents Y1 - 2022 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jpclett.1c03453 SN - 1948-7185 VL - 13 IS - 10 SP - 2459 EP - 2466 PB - American Chemical Society CY - Washington ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Eckert, Sebastian A1 - Mascarenhas, Eric Johnn A1 - Mitzner, Rolf A1 - Jay, Raphael Martin A1 - Pietzsch, Annette A1 - Fondell, Mattis A1 - Vaz da Cruz, Vinicius A1 - Föhlisch, Alexander T1 - From the free ligand to the transition metal complex BT - FeEDTA(-) formation seen at ligand K-Edges JF - Inorganic chemistry N2 - Chelating agents are an integral part of transition metal complex chemistry with broad biological and industrial relevance. The hexadentate chelating agent ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) has the capability to bind to metal ions at its two nitrogen and four of its carboxylate oxygen sites. We use resonant inelastic X-ray scattering at the 1s absorption edge of the aforementioned elements in EDTA and the iron(III)-EDTA complex to investigate the impact of the metal-ligand bond formation on the electronic structure of EDTA. Frontier orbital distortions, occupation changes, and energy shifts through metal- ligand bond formation are probed through distinct spectroscopic signatures. KW - Energy KW - Ligands KW - Metals KW - Nitrogen KW - Oxygen Y1 - 2022 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.inorgchem.2c00789 SN - 0020-1669 SN - 1520-510X VL - 61 IS - 27 SP - 10321 EP - 10328 PB - American Chemical Society CY - Washington ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Ochmann, Miguel A1 - Vaz da Cruz, Vinicius A1 - Eckert, Sebastian A1 - Huse, Nils A1 - Föhlisch, Alexander T1 - R-Group stabilization in methylated formamides observed by resonant inelastic X-ray scattering JF - Chemical communications: ChemComm N2 - The inherent stability of methylated formamides is traced to a stabilization of the deep-lying sigma-framework by resonant inelastic X-ray scattering at the nitrogen K-edge. Charge transfer from the amide nitrogen to the methyl groups underlie this stabilization mechanism that leaves the aldehyde group essentially unaltered and explains the stability of secondary and tertiary amides. Y1 - 2022 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1039/d2cc00053a SN - 1359-7345 SN - 1364-548X VL - 58 IS - 63 SP - 8834 EP - 8837 PB - The Royal Society of Chemistry CY - Cambridge ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Büchner, Robby A1 - da Cruz, Vinicius Vaz A1 - Grover, Nitika A1 - Charisiadis, Asterios A1 - Fondell, Mattis A1 - Haverkamp, Robert A1 - Senge, Mathias O. A1 - Föhlisch, Alexander T1 - Fundamental electronic changes upon intersystem crossing in large aromatic photosensitizers: free base 5,10,15,20-tetrakis(4-carboxylatophenyl)porphyrin JF - Physical chemistry, chemical physics : a journal of European Chemical Societies N2 - Free base 5,10,15,20-tetrakis(4-carboxylatophenyl)porphyrin stands for the class of powerful porphyrin photosensitizers for singlet oxygen generation and light-harvesting. The atomic level selectivity of dynamic UV pump - N K-edge probe X-ray absorption spectroscopy in combination with time-dependent density functional theory (TD-DFT) gives direct access to the crucial excited molecular states within the unusual relaxation pathway. The efficient intersystem crossing, that is El-Sayed forbidden and not facilitated by a heavy atom is confirmed to be the result of the long singlet excited state lifetime (Q(x) 4.9 ns) and thermal effects. Overall, the interplay of stabilization by conservation of angular momenta and vibronic relaxation drive the de-excitation in these chromophores. Y1 - 2022 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1039/d1cp05420a SN - 1463-9076 SN - 1463-9084 VL - 24 IS - 12 SP - 7505 EP - 7511 PB - Royal Society of Chemistry CY - Cambridge ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Johansson, Fredrik O. L. A1 - Leitner, Torsten A1 - Bidermane, Ieva A1 - Born, Artur A1 - Föhlisch, Alexander A1 - Svensson, Svante A1 - Mårtensson, Nils A1 - Lindblad, Andreas T1 - Auger- and photoelectron coincidences of molecular O2 adsorbed on Ag(111) JF - Journal of electron spectroscopy and related phenomena : the international journal on theoretical and experimental aspects of electron spectroscopy N2 - The oxygen on Ag(111) system has been investigated with Auger electron-photoelectron coincidence spectroscopy (APECS). The coincidence spectra between O 1s core level photoelectrons and O KLL Auger electrons have been studied together with Ag(3)d/AgM4,5NN coincidences. We also describe the electron-electron coincidence spectrometer setup, CoESCA, consisting of two angle resolved time-of-flight spectrometers at a synchrotron light source. Contributions from molecular oxygen and chemisorbed oxygen are assigned using the coincidence data, conclusions are drawn primarily from the O 1s/O KLL data. The data acquisition and treatment procedure are also outlined. The chemisorbed oxygen species observed are relevant for the catalytic ethylene oxidation. KW - oxygen/Ag(111) KW - Auger electron KW - photoelectron KW - coincidence KW - APECS KW - spectroscopy Y1 - 2022 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.elspec.2022.147174 SN - 0368-2048 SN - 1873-2526 VL - 256 PB - Elsevier CY - New York, NY [u.a.] ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Liu, Ji-Cai A1 - Ignatova, Nina A1 - Kimberg, Victor A1 - Krasnov, Pavel A1 - Föhlisch, Alexander A1 - Simon, Marc A1 - Gel'mukhanov, Faris T1 - Time-resolved study of recoil-induced rotation by X-ray pump - X-ray probe spectroscopy JF - Physical chemistry, chemical physics : a journal of European Chemical Societies N2 - Modern stationary X-ray spectroscopy is unable to resolve rotational structure. In the present paper, we propose to use time-resolved two color X-ray pump-probe spectroscopy with picosecond resolution for real-time monitoring of the rotational dynamics induced by the recoil effect. The proposed technique consists of two steps. The first short pump X-ray pulse ionizes the valence electron, which transfers angular momentum to the molecule. The second time-delayed short probe X-ray pulse resonantly excites a 1s electron to the created valence hole. Due to the recoil-induced angular momentum the molecule rotates and changes the orientation of transition dipole moment of core-excitation with respect to the transition dipole moment of the valence ionization, which results in a temporal modulation of the probe X-ray absorption as a function of the delay time between the pulses. We developed an accurate theory of the X-ray pump-probe spectroscopy of the recoil-induced rotation and study how the energy of the photoelectron and thermal dephasing affect the structure of the time-dependent X-ray absorption using the CO molecule as a case-study. We also discuss the feasibility of experimental observation of our theoretical findings, opening new perspectives in studies of molecular rotational dynamics. Y1 - 2022 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1039/d1cp05000a SN - 1463-9076 SN - 1463-9084 VL - 24 IS - 11 SP - 6627 EP - 6638 PB - Royal Society of Chemistry CY - Cambridge ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Born, Artur A1 - Johansson, Fredrik O. L. A1 - Leitner, Torsten A1 - Bidermane, Ieva A1 - Kuehn, Danilo A1 - Martensson, Nils A1 - Föhlisch, Alexander T1 - The degree of electron itinerancy and shell closing in the core-ionized state of transition metals probed by Auger-photoelectron coincidence spectroscopy JF - Physical chemistry, chemical physics : a journal of European Chemical Societies N2 - Auger-photoelectron coincidence spectroscopy (APECS) has been used to examine the electron correlation and itinerance effects in transition metals Cu, Ni and Co. It is shown that the LVV Auger, in coincidence with 2p photoelectrons, spectra can be represented using atomic multiplet positions if the 3d-shell is localized (atomic-like) and with a self-convoluted valence band for band-like (itinerant) materials as explained using the Cini-Sawatzky model. For transition metals, the 3d band changes from band-like to localized with increasing atomic number, with the possibility of a mixed behavior. Our result shows that the LVV spectra of Cu can be represented by atomic multiplet calculations, those of Co resemble the self-convolution of the valence band and those of Ni are a mixture of both, consistent with the Cini-Sawatzky model. KW - spectra KW - Ni Y1 - 2022 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1039/d2cp02477b SN - 1463-9076 SN - 1463-9084 VL - 24 IS - 32 SP - 19218 EP - 19222 PB - Royal Society of Chemistry CY - Cambridge ER -