Experimental and Theoretical Comparison of the O K-Edge Nonresonant Inelastic X-ray Scattering and X-ray Absorption Spectra of NaReO[subscript 4]
- PNNL
Accurate X-ray absorption spectra (XAS) of first row atoms, e.g., O, are notoriously difficult to obtain due to the extreme sensitivity of the measurement to surface contamination, self-absorption, and saturation affects. Herein, we describe a comprehensive approach for determining reliable O K-edge XAS data for ReO{sub 4}{sup 1-} and provide methodology for obtaining trustworthy and quantitative data on nonconducting molecular systems, even in the presence of surface contamination. This involves comparing spectra measured by nonresonant inelastic X-ray scattering (NRIXS), a bulk-sensitive technique that is not prone to X-ray self-absorption and provides exact peak intensities, with XAS spectra obtained by three different detection modes, namely total electron yield (TEY), fluorescence yield (FY), and scanning transmission X-ray microscopy (STXM). For ReO{sub 4}{sup 1-}, TEY measurements were heavily influenced by surface contamination, while the FY and STXM data agree well with the bulk NRIXS analysis. These spectra all showed two intense pre-edge features indicative of the covalent interaction between the Re 5d and O 2p orbitals. Density functional theory calculations were used to assign these two peaks as O 1s excitations to the e and t{sub 2} molecular orbitals that result from Re 5d and O 2p covalent mixing in T{sub d} symmetry. Electronic structure calculations were used to determine the amount of O 2p character (%) in these molecular orbitals. Time dependent-density functional theory (TD-DFT) was also used to calculate the energies and intensities of the pre-edge transitions. Overall, under these experimental conditions, this analysis suggests that NRIXS, STXM, and FY operate cooperatively, providing a sound basis for validation of bulk-like excitation spectra and, in combination with electronic structure calculations, suggest that NaReO{sub 4} may serve as a well-defined O K-edge energy and intensity standard for future O K-edge XAS studies.
- Research Organization:
- Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States). Advanced Photon Source (APS)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- OSTI ID:
- 1002910
- Journal Information:
- J. Am. Chem. Soc., Vol. 132, Issue (39) ; 10, 2010; ISSN 0002-7863
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- ENGLISH
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