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Resolving structures of transition metal complex reaction intermediates with femtosecond EXAFS
Alexander Britz1, Baxter Abraham2, Elisa Biasin3
1Stanford PULSE Institute, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, CA 94025, USA. abritz@slac.stanford.edu and Linac Coherent Light Source, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, CA 94025, USA. robertoa@slac.stanford.edu.
Abstract:
Femtosecond-resolved Extended X-ray Absorption Fine Structure (EXAFS) measurements of solvated transition metal complexes are successfully implemented at the X-ray Free Electron Laser LCLS. Benchmark experiments on [Fe(terpy)2]2+ in solution show a signal-to-noise ratio on the order of 500, comparable to typical 100 ps-resolution synchrotron measurements. In the few femtoseconds after photoexcitation, we observe the EXAFS fingerprints of a short-lived (∼100 fs) intermediate as well as those of a vibrationally hot long-lived (∼ns) excited state.
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