@article{JayNorellEckertetal.2018,
  author    = {Jay, Raphael M. and Norell, Jesper and Eckert, Sebastian and Hantschmann, Markus and Beye, Martin and Kennedy, Brian and Quevedo, Wilson and Schlotter, William F. and Dakovski, Georgi L. and Minitti, Michael P. and Hoffmann, Matthias C. and Mitra, Ankush and Moeller, Stefan P. and Nordlund, Dennis and Zhang, Wenkai and Liang, Huiyang W. and Kunnus, Kristian and Kubicek, Katharina and Techert, Simone A. and Lundberg, Marcus and Wernet, Philippe and Gaffney, Kelly and Odelius, Michael and F{\"o}hlisch, Alexander},
  title     = {Disentangling Transient Charge Density and Metal-Ligand Covalency in Photoexcited Ferricyanide with Femtosecond Resonant Inelastic Soft X-ray Scattering},
  series = {The journal of physical chemistry letters},
  volume    = {9},
  journal   = {The journal of physical chemistry letters},
  number    = {12},
  publisher = {American Chemical Society},
  address   = {Washington},
  issn      = {1948-7185},
  doi       = {10.1021/acs.jpclett.8b01429},
  pages     = {3538 -- 3543},
  year      = {2018},
  abstract  = {Soft X-ray spectroscopies are ideal probes of the local valence electronic structure of photocatalytically active metal sites. Here, we apply the selectivity of time resolved resonant inelastic X-ray scattering at the iron L-edge to the transient charge distribution of an optically excited charge-transfer state in aqueous ferricyanide. Through comparison to steady-state spectra and quantum chemical calculations, the coupled effects of valence-shell closing and ligand-hole creation are experimentally and theoretically disentangled and described in terms of orbital occupancy, metal-ligand covalency, and ligand field splitting, thereby extending established steady-state concepts to the excited-state domain. pi-Back-donation is found to be mainly determined by the metal site occupation, whereas the ligand hole instead influences sigma-donation. Our results demonstrate how ultrafast resonant inelastic X-ray scattering can help characterize local charge distributions around catalytic metal centers in short-lived charge-transfer excited states, as a step toward future rationalization and tailoring of photocatalytic capabilities of transition-metal complexes.},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{JayVazdaCruzEckertetal.2020,
  author    = {Jay, Raphael M. and Vaz da Cruz, Vinicius and Eckert, Sebastian and Fondell, Mattis and Mitzner, Rolf and F{\"o}hlisch, Alexander},
  title     = {Probing solute-solvent interactions of transition metal complexes using L-edge absorption spectroscopy},
  series = {The journal of physical chemistry : B, Condensed matter, materials, surfaces, interfaces \& biophysical chemistry},
  volume    = {124},
  journal   = {The journal of physical chemistry : B, Condensed matter, materials, surfaces, interfaces \& biophysical chemistry},
  number    = {27},
  publisher = {American Chemical Society},
  address   = {Washington},
  issn      = {1520-6106},
  doi       = {10.1021/acs.jpcb.0c00638},
  pages     = {5636 -- 5645},
  year      = {2020},
  abstract  = {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.},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{JayEckertMitzneretal.2020,
  author    = {Jay, Raphael M. and Eckert, Sebastian and Mitzner, Rolf and Fondell, Mattis and F{\"o}hlisch, Alexander},
  title     = {Quantitative evaluation of transient valence orbital occupations in a 3d transition metal complex as seen from the metal and ligand perspective},
  series = {Chemical physics letters},
  volume    = {754},
  journal   = {Chemical physics letters},
  publisher = {Elsevier},
  address   = {Amsterdam},
  issn      = {0009-2614},
  doi       = {10.1016/j.cplett.2020.137681},
  pages     = {5},
  year      = {2020},
  abstract  = {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.},
  language  = {en}
}