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 - GEN 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 T2 - Postprints der Universität Potsdam Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe 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. T3 - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe - 780 KW - l-edge xas KW - electronic-structure KW - molecular-structure KW - spin-state KW - dynamics KW - complexes KW - probe KW - water KW - iron(II) KW - spectra Y1 - 2019 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-437529 SN - 1866-8372 IS - 780 ER -