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Title: Visualizing the non-equilibrium dynamics of photoinduced intramolecular electron transfer with femtosecond X-ray pulses

Journal Article · · Nature Communications
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms7359· OSTI ID:1225221
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  1. Lund Univ., Lund (Sweden)
  2. Univ. of Copenhagen, Copenhagen (Denmark); Technical Univ. of Denmark, Lyngby (Denmark)
  3. Hungarian Academy Sciences, Budapest (Hungary)
  4. Technical Univ. of Denmark, Lyngby (Denmark)
  5. High Energy Accelerator Research Organization, Ibaraki (Japan)
  6. Hungarian Academy Sciences, Budapest (Hungary); Univ. Paris-Sud, Orsay Cedex (France)
  7. European XFEL, Hamburg (Germany); The Hamburg Centre for Ultrafast Imaging, Hamburg (Germany)
  8. European XFEL, Hamburg (Germany)
  9. Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)
  10. Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Budapest (Hungary)
  11. RIKEN, Hyogo (Japan)
  12. Japan Synchrotron Radiation Research Institute, Hyogo (Japan)

Ultrafast photoinduced electron transfer preceding energy equilibration still poses many experimental and conceptual challenges to the optimization of photoconversion since an atomic-scale description has so far been beyond reach. Here we combine femtosecond transient optical absorption spectroscopy with ultrafast X-ray emission spectroscopy and diffuse X-ray scattering at the SACLA facility to track the non-equilibrated electronic and structural dynamics within a bimetallic donor-acceptor complex that contains an optically dark centre. Exploiting the 100-fold increase in temporal resolution as compared with storage ring facilities, these measurements constitute the first X-ray-based visualization of a non-equilibrated intramolecular electron transfer process over large interatomic distances. Experimental and theoretical results establish that mediation through electronically excited molecular states is a key mechanistic feature. The present study demonstrates the extensive potential of femtosecond X-ray techniques as diagnostics of non-adiabatic electron transfer processes in synthetic and biological systems, and some directions for future studies, are outlined.

Research Organization:
Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES)
Grant/Contract Number:
AC02-06CH11357
OSTI ID:
1225221
Alternate ID(s):
OSTI ID: 1392021
Journal Information:
Nature Communications, Vol. 6; ISSN 2041-1723
Publisher:
Nature Publishing GroupCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 117 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

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Disentangling Ultrafast Electronic and Structural Dynamics with X-Ray Lasers journal September 2018
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Core-level nonlinear spectroscopy triggered by stochastic X-ray pulses journal October 2019
Vibrational wavepacket dynamics in Fe carbene photosensitizer determined with femtosecond X-ray emission and scattering journal January 2020
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Photoinduced valence tautomerism of a cobalt-dioxolene complex revealed with femtosecond M-edge XANES journal September 2019
Elucidation of the photoaquation reaction mechanism in ferrous hexacyanide using synchrotron x-rays with sub-pulse-duration sensitivity journal October 2019
Solvent-dependent complex reaction pathways of bromoform revealed by time-resolved X-ray solution scattering and X-ray transient absorption spectroscopy journal November 2019
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Coherent control of long-range photoinduced electron transfer by stimulated X-ray Raman processes journal August 2016
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Chemical interactions and dynamics with femtosecond X-ray spectroscopy and the role of X-ray free-electron lasers journal April 2019
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SwissFEL: The Swiss X-ray Free Electron Laser journal July 2017
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Perspective: Opportunities for ultrafast science at SwissFEL text January 2017
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Hole dynamics in a photovoltaic donor-acceptor couple revealed by simulated time-resolved X-ray absorption spectroscopy journal July 2019
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Vibrational wavepacket dynamics in Fe carbene photosensitizer determined with femtosecond X-ray emission and scattering text January 2020
Chemical interactions and dynamics with femtosecond X-ray spectroscopy and the role of X-ray free-electron lasers text January 2019
Hot Branching Dynamics in a Light‐Harvesting Iron Carbene Complex Revealed by Ultrafast X‐ray Emission Spectroscopy text January 2020
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