Catalysis in Real Time Using X-Ray Lasers

We describe how the unique temporal and spectral characteristics of X-ray free-electron lasers (XFEL) can be utilized to follow chemical transformations in heterogeneous catalysis in real time. We highlight the systematic study of CO oxidation on Ru(0001), which we initiate either using a femtosecond pulse from an optical laser or by activating only the oxygen atoms using a THz pulse. We find that CO is promoted into an entropy-controlled precursor state prior to desorbing when the surface is heated in the absence of oxygen, whereas in the presence of oxygen, CO desorbs directly into the gas phase. We monitor the activation of atomic oxygen explicitly by the reduced split between bonding and antibonding orbitals as the oxygen comes out of the strongly bound hollow position. Applying these novel XFEL techniques to the full oxidation reaction resulted in the surprising observation of a significant fraction of the reactants at the transition state through the electronic signature of the new bond formation

Selective ultrafast probing of transient hot chemisorbed and precursor states of CO on Ru(0001)

We have studied the femtosecond dynamics following optical laser excitation of CO adsorbed on a Ru surface by monitoring changes in the occupied and unoccupied electronic structure using ultrafast soft x-ray absorption and emission. We recently reported [M. Dell’Angela et al. Science 339 1302 (2013)] a phonon-mediated transition into a weakly adsorbed precursor state occurring on a time scale of >2  ps prior to desorption. Here we focus on processes within the first picosecond after laser excitation and show that the metal-adsorbate coordination is initially increased due to hot-electron-driven vibrational excitations. This process is faster than, but occurs in parallel with, the transition into the precursor state. With resonant x-ray emission spectroscopy, we probe each of these states selectively and determine the respective transient populations depending on optical laser fluence. Ab initio molecular dynamics simulations of CO adsorbed on Ru(0001) were performed at 1500 and 3000 K providing insight into the desorption process

Structural versus Electrical Functionalization of Oligo(phenyleneethynylene) Diamine Molecular Junctions

We explore both experimentally and theoretically the conductance and packing of molecular junctions based on oligo(phenyleneethynylene) (OPE) diamine wires, when a series of functional groups are incorporated into the wires. Using the scanning tunnelling microscopy break-junction (STM BJ) technique, we study these compounds in two environments (air and 1,2,4-trichlorobenzene) and explore different starting molecular concentrations. We show that the electrical conductance of the molecular junctions exhibits variations among different compounds, which are significant at standard concentrations but become unimportant when working at a low enough concentration. This shows that the main effect of the functional groups is to affect the packing of the molecular wires, rather than to modify their electrical properties. Our theoretical calculations consistently predict no significant changes in the conductance of the wires due to the electronic structure of the functional groups, although their ability to hinder ring rotations within the OPE backbone can lead to higher conductances at higher packing densities

Supramolecular environment-dependent electronic properties of metal-organic interfaces

Model donor-acceptor assemblies at metal-organic interfaces, namely, fluorinated copper-phthalocyanines (F 16CuPC) and pentacene (PEN) assemblies on the Au(111) surface, have been the focus of the present study. A full picture of the crystallographic and electronic structure of PEN and F 16CuPC monolayers as well as of their 1:1 binary mixture on the Au(111) surface has been explored by means of a variety of surface-sensitive techniques, providing important information on the intermolecular and molecule-substrate interactions governing the self-assembly process. A long-range ordered donor-acceptor network is observed for the mixture as a result of the greatly enhanced intermolecular interaction via C-F···H-C hydrogen bonds. Interestingly, the new supramolecular structure involves changes in the electronic structure of the molecular components. In particular, the strongest changes are observed at the C and F atoms of the F 16CuPc, as opposed to the F 16CuPc N, Cu, or PEN C atoms. With the aid of theoretical calculations, such effects are found to be at least partially related to an upward shift in energy of the F 16CuPc molecular orbitals, concomitant with a molecule-to-metal charge donation, not from the HOMO, but deeper lying orbitals. © 2012 American Chemical Society.This work was supported by the Spanish MICINN (MAT2010-21156-C03-01, C03-03, PIB2010US-00652) and the Basque Government (IT-257-07). The SRC is funded by the National Science Foundation (award no. DMR-0084402). B.P.D. thanks the ICTP (Trieste) for travel funding. The research leading to these results has received funding from the European Community’s Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) under grant agreement no. 226716. The research leading to these results has received funding from the European Community’s Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007- 2013) through the Integrated Infrastructure Initiative “European Light Sources Activities − Synchrotrons and Free Electron Lasers” (grant agreement no. 226716).Peer Reviewe

Vibrational fingerprint of localized excitons in a two-dimensional metal-organic crystal

Long-lived excitons in a two-dimensional metal-organic crystal can be produced by visible light and detected by infrared radiation. Here, the authors show that the excitonic state of a biomimetic macrocycle can be ‘read’ by measuring the vibrations of an adsorbed ligand

Transient quantum isolation and critical behavior in the magnetization dynamics of half-metallic manganites

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