Ultrafast Coherent Control and Characterization of Surface Reactions using FELs

The microscopic understanding of reactions at surfaces requires an in-depth knowledge of the dynamics of elementary processes on an ultrafast timescale. This can be accomplished using an ultrafast excitation to initiate a chemical reaction and then probe the progression of the reaction with an ultrashort x-ray pulse from the FEL. There is a great potential to use atom-specific spectroscopy involving core levels to probe the chemical nature, structure and bonding of species on surfaces. The ultrashort electron pulse obtained in the linear accelerator to feed the X-ray FEL can also be used for generation of coherent synchrotron radiation in the low energy THz regime to be used as a pump. This radiation has an energy close to the thermal excitations of low-energy vibrational modes of molecules on surfaces and phonons in substrates. The coherent THz radiation will be an electric field pulse with a certain direction that can collectively manipulate atoms or molecules on surfaces. In this respect a chemical reaction can be initiated by collective atomic motion along a specific reaction coordinate. If the coherent THz radiation is generated from the same source as the X-ray FEL radiation, full-time synchronization for pump-probe experiments will be possible. The combination of THz and X-ray spectroscopy could be a unique opportunity for FEL facilities to conduct ultrafast chemistry studies at surfaces

Probing the hydrogen-bond network of water via time-resolved soft x-ray spectroscopy

We report time-resolved studies of hydrogen bonding in liquid H2O, in response to direct excitation of the O-H stretch mode at 3 mu m, probed via soft x-ray absorption spectroscopy at the oxygen K-edge. This approach employs a newly developed nanofluidic cell for transient soft x-ray spectroscopy in liquid phase. Distinct changes in the near-edge spectral region (XANES) are observed, and are indicative of a transient temperature rise of 10K following transient laser excitation and rapid thermalization of vibrational energy. The rapid heating occurs at constant volume and the associated increase in internal pressure, estimated to be 8MPa, is manifest by distinct spectral changes that differ from those induced by temperature alone. We conclude that the near-edge spectral shape of the oxygen K-edge is a sensitive probe of internal pressure, opening new possibilities for testing the validity of water models and providing new insight into the nature of hydrogen bonding in water

Increased fraction of low-density structures in aqueous solutions of fluoride

X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) and small angle x-ray scattering (SAXS) were utilized to study the effect of fluoride (F−) anion in aqueous solutions. XAS spectra show that F− increases the number of strong H-bonds, likely between F− and water in the first hydration shell. SAXS data show a low-Q scattering intensity increase similar to the effect of a temperature decrease, suggesting an enhanced anomalous scattering behavior in F− solutions. Quantitative analysis revealed that fluoride solutions have larger correlation lengths than chloride solutions with the same cations but shorter compared to pure water. This is interpreted as an increased fraction of tetrahedral low-density structures in the solutions due to the presence of the F− ions, which act as nucleation centers replacing water in the H-bonding network and forming stronger H-bonds, but the presence of the cations restricts the extension of strong H-bonds

The structure of water in the hydration shell of cations from x-ray Raman and small angle x-ray scattering measurements

X-ray Raman scattering (XRS) spectroscopy and small angle x-ray scattering (SAXS) are used to study water in aqueous solutions of NaCl, MgCl2, and AlCl3 with the particular aim to provide information about the structure of the hydration shells of the cations. The XRS spectra show that Na+ weakens the hydrogen bonds of water molecules in its vicinity, similar to the effect of increased temperature and pressure. Mg2+ and Al3+, on the other hand, cause the formation of short and strong hydrogen bonds between the surrounding water molecules. The SAXS data show that Mg2+ and Al3+ form tightly bound hydration shells that give a large density contrast in the scattering data. From the form factors extracted from the SAXS data, we found that Mg2+ and Al3+ have, respectively, an equivalent of one and one and a half stable hydration shells that appear as a density contrast. In addition, we estimated that the density of water in the hydration shells of Mg2+ and Al3+ is, respectively, ∼61% and ∼71% higher than in bulk water

Anomalous Behavior of the Homogeneous Ice Nucleation Rate in No Man s Land

We present an analysis of ice nucleation kinetics from near-ambient pressure water as temperature decreases below the homogeneous limit TH by cooling micrometer-sized droplets (microdroplets) evaporatively at 103−104 K/s and probing the structure ultrafast using femtosecond pulses from the Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) free-electron X-ray laser. Below 232 K, we observed a slower nucleation rate increase with decreasing temperature than anticipated from previous measurements, which we suggest is due to the rapid decrease in water’s diffusivity. This is consistent with earlier findings that microdroplets do not crystallize at <227 K, but vitrify at cooling rates of 106−107 K/s. We also hypothesizethat the slower increase in the nucleation rate is connected with the proposed “fragile-to-strong” transition anomaly in water

Chemical Bond Activation Observed with an X-ray Laser

The concept of bonding and antibonding orbitals is fundamental in chemistry. The population of those orbitals and the energetic difference between the two reflect the strength of the bonding interaction. Weakening the bond is expected to reduce this energetic splitting, but the transient character of bond-activation has so far prohibited direct experimental access. Here we apply time-resolved soft X-ray spectroscopy at a free-electron laser to directly observe the decreased bonding–antibonding splitting following bond-activation using an ultrashort optical laser pulse

Coherent X-rays reveal the influence of cage effects on ultrafast water dynamics

The dynamics of liquid water feature a variety of time scales, ranging from extremely fast ballistic-like thermal motion, to slower molecular diffusion and hydrogen-bond rearrangements. Here, we utilize coherent X-ray pulses to investigate the sub-100 fs equilibrium dynamics of water from ambient conditions down to supercooled temperatures. This novel approach utilizes the inherent capability of X-ray speckle visibility spectroscopy to measure equilibrium intermolecular dynamics with lengthscale selectivity, by measuring oxygen motion in momentum space. The observed decay of the speckle contrast at the first diffraction peak, which reflects tetrahedral coordination, is attributed to motion on a molecular scale within the first 120 fs. Through comparison with molecular dynamics simulations, we conclude that the slowing down upon cooling from 328 K down to 253 K is not due to simple thermal ballistic-like motion, but that cage effects play an important role even on timescales over 25 fs due to hydrogen-bonding.112sciescopu