Final-State Projection Method in Charge-Transfer Multiplet Calculations: An Analysis of Ti L-Edge Absorption Spectra

Tracking Coordination Environment and Reaction Intermediates in Homogeneous and Heterogeneous Epoxidation Catalysts via Ti L2,3-Edge Near-Edge X-ray Absorption Fine Structures

Ti-based molecules and materials are ubiquitous and play a major role in both homogeneous and heterogeneous catalytic processes. Understanding the electronic structures of their active sites (oxidation state, local symmetry, and ligand environment) is key to developing molecular-level structure-property relationships. In that context, X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) offers a unique combination of elemental selectivity and sensitivity to local symmetry. Commonly, for early transition metals such as Ti, K-edge XAS is applied for in situ characterization and subsequent structural analysis with high sensitivity toward tetrahedral species. Ti L2,3-edge spectroscopy is in principle complementary and offers specific opportunities to interrogate the electronic structure of five-and six-coordinated species. It is, however, much more rarely implemented because the use of soft X-rays implies ultrahigh vacuum conditions. Furthermore, the interpretation of the data can be challenging. Here, we show how Ti L2,3-edge spectroscopy can help to obtain unique information about both homogeneous and heterogeneous epoxidation catalysts and develop a molecular-level relationship between spectroscopic signatures and electronic structures. Toward this goal, we first establish a spectral library of molecular Ti reference compounds, comprising various coordination environments with mono- and dimeric Ti species having O, N, and Cl ligands. We next implemented a computational methodology based on multiplet ligand field theory and maximally localized Wannier orbitals benchmarked on our library to understand Ti L2,3-edge spectroscopic signatures. We finally used this approach to track and predict the spectra of catalytically relevant intermediates, focusing on Ti-based olefin epoxidation catalysts.

Chelation-Based Route to Aluminum-Free Layered Transition Metal Carbides (MXenes)

MXenes are of much interest because of their electrochemical, electronic, and surface chemical properties that arise from their structure and stoichiometry. The integrity and the nature of the terminal groups on the basal planes of MXene sheets depend strongly on the method used to etch the parent MAX (M = transition metal, A = Al, X = C, N, B) compound. Aluminum removal typically involves a high concentration of aqueous HF, HCl/LiF mixtures, or fluoride solutions of strong acids. HF etching is problematic because it leaves insoluble AlF3 in the product, degrades the crystallinity of the nanosheets, and results in the termination of the basal planes with F, O, or OH groups. Here, we demonstrate the use of HF at a low concentration in tandem with a chelating agent, N,N'-dihydroxyoctanediamide (suberohydroxamic acid), to selectively etch the archetypical MAX compound Ti3AlC2 at room temperature. X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) of the etched materials shows that the carbide nature of bonding in the parent MAX structure is retained in the MXene layers. The stability of the MXene in aqueous suspensions is also significantly improved relative to MXene products made by etching in concentrated HF solutions.

Reversing the Catalytic Selectivity of Single-Atom Ru via Support Amorphization

Supported single-atom catalysts (SACs), with the extremely homogenized active sites could achieve high hydrogenation selectivity toward one of the functional groups coexisting in the reactant molecule. However, as to the target group, the control of selective recognition and activation by SACs still remains a challenge. Herein, the phase engineering of the support is adopted to control the chemo-recognition behavior of SACs in selective hydrogenation. Single-atom Ru on amorphous porous ultrathin TiO₂ nanosheets (Ru₁/a-TiO₂) is constructed, in which Ru is more positively charged than that in the crystalline counterpart (Ru₁/c-TiO₂). Moreover, in the nitro/vinyl selective hydrogenation process, Ru₁/a-TiO₂ shows superior nitro selectivity, opposite to the vinyl selectivity of Ru₁/c-TiO₂. Density functional theory calculations for single-atom Ru of different charge states show that the reactant adsorption configuration could be inverted in the amorphous TiO₂, accounting for the chemo-recognition behavior controlled by the phase of support.

Presence of Delocalized Ti 3d Electrons in Ultrathin Single-Crystal SrTiO3

Strontium titanate (STO), with a wide spectrum of emergent properties such as ferroelectricity and superconductivity, has received significant attention in the community of strongly correlated materials. In the strain-free STO film grown on the SrRuO₃ buffer layer, the existing polar nanoregions can facilitate room-temperature ferroelectricity when the STO film thickness approaches 10 nm. Here we show that around this thickness scale, the freestanding STO films without the influence of a substrate show the tetragonal structure at room temperature, contrasting with the cubic structure seen in bulk form. The spectroscopic measurements reveal the modified Ti-O orbital hybridization that causes the Ti ion to deviate from its nominal 4+ valency (3d⁰ configuration) with excess delocalized 3d electrons. Additionally, the Ti ion in TiO₆ octahedron exhibits an off-center displacement. The inherent symmetry lowering in ultrathin freestanding films offers an alternative way to achieve tunable electronic structures that are of paramount importance for future technological applications.

Quantifying the Steric Effect on Metal-Ligand Bonding in Fe Carbene Photosensitizers with Fe 2p3d Resonant Inelastic X-ray Scattering

Understanding the electronic structure and chemical bonding of transition metal complexes is important for improving the function of molecular photosensitizers and catalysts. We have utilized X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) and resonant inelastic X-ray scattering (RIXS) at the Fe L₃ edge to investigate the electronic structure of two Fe N-heterocyclic carbene complexes with similar chemical structures but different steric effects and contrasting excited-state dynamics: [Fe(bmip)₂]²⁺ and [Fe(btbip)₂]²⁺, bmip = 2,6-bis(3-methyl-imidazole-1-ylidine)pyridine and btbip = 2,6-bis(3-tert-butyl-imidazole-1-ylidene)pyridine. In combination with charge transfer multiplet and ab initio calculations, we quantified how changes in Fe-carbene bond length due to steric effects modify the metal-ligand bonding, including σ/π donation and π back-donation. We find that σ donation is significantly stronger in [Fe(bmip)₂]²⁺, whereas the π back-donation is similar in both complexes. The resulting stronger ligand field and nephelauxetic effect in [Fe(bmip)₂]²⁺ lead to approximately 1 eV destabilization of the quintet metal-centered ⁵T_2g excited state compared to [Fe(btbip)₂]²⁺, providing an explanation for the absence of a photoinduced ⁵T_2g population and a longer metal-to-ligand charge-transfer excited-state lifetime in [Fe(bmip)₂]²⁺. This work demonstrates how combined modeling of XAS and RIXS spectra can be utilized to understand the electronic structure of transition metal complexes governed by correlated electrons and donation/back-donation interactions.

Hester J, Gu Q, Liu Y, Schmid S. Synthesis, structure and dielectric properties of the Sr3Ti1−xZrxNb4O15, (0 ≤ x ≤ 1), series of tungsten bronze type compounds

High temperature phase transitions from Pna2₁ to P4/mbm are observed for all compositions, and transition temperatures increase with Zr content.

Investigation of the multiplet features of SrTiO3 in X-ray absorption spectra based on configuration interaction calculations

Synchrotron-based L_2,3-edge absorption spectra show strong sensitivities to the local electronic structure and chemical environment. However, detailed physical information cannot be extracted easily without computational aids. Here, using the experimental Ti L_2,3-edges absorption spectrum of SrTiO₃ as a fingerprint and considering full multiplet effects, calculations yield different energy parameters characterizing local ground state properties. The peak splitting and intensity ratios of the L₃ and L₂ set of peaks are carefully analyzed quantitatively, giving rise to a small hybridization energy around 1.2 eV, and the different hybridization energy values reported in the literature are further addressed. Finally, absorption spectra with different linearly polarized photons under various tetragonal crystal fields are investigated, revealing a non-linear orbital-lattice interaction, and a theoretical guidance for material engineering of SrTiO₃-based thin films and heterostructures is offered. Detailed analysis of spectrum shifts with different tetragonal crystal fields suggests that the e_g crystal field splitting is a necessary parameter for a thorough analysis of the spectra, even though it is not relevant for the ground state properties.

Direct Observation of Cr3+ 3d States in Ruby: Toward Experimental Mechanistic Evidence of Metal Chemistry

The role of transition metals in chemical reactions is often derived from probing the metal 3d states. However, the relation between metal site geometry and 3d electronic states, arising from multielectronic effects, makes the spectral data interpretation and modeling of these optical excited states a challenge. Here we show, using the well-known case of red ruby, that unique insights into the density of transition metal 3d excited states can be gained with 2p3d resonant inelastic X-ray scattering (RIXS). We compare the experimental determination of the 3d excited states of Cr³⁺ impurities in Al₂O₃ with 190 meV resolution 2p3d RIXS to optical absorption spectroscopy and to simulations. Using the crystal field multiplet theory, we calculate jointly for the first time the Cr³⁺ multielectronic states, RIXS, and optical spectra based on a unique set of parameters. We demonstrate that (i) anisotropic 3d multielectronic interactions causes different scaling of Slater integrals, and (ii) a previously not observed doublet excited state exists around 3.35 eV. These results allow to discuss the influence of interferences in the RIXS intermediate state, of core–hole lifetime broadenings, and of selection rules on the RIXS intensities. Finally, our results demonstrate that using an intermediate excitation energy between L₃ and L₂ edges allows measurement of the density of 3d excited states as a fingerprint of the metal local structure. This opens up a new direction to pump-before-destroy investigations of transition metal complex structures and reaction mechanisms.

Investigation of the multiplet structures and crystal field effects of a TiO6 3d 1 cluster based on configuration interaction calculations

Configuration interaction cluster calculation can effectively reproduce the experimentally measured Ti L 23-edge absorption spectrum for the TiO6 cluster LaTiO3. A further investigation of the hybridization strength and charge-transfer energy effects on the multiplet structures suggests that LaTiO3 should be classified as an intermediate state between the charge-transfer and Mott–Hubbard regimes. Detailed temperature-dependent simulations of absorption spectra support the lifting of Ti t 2g orbital degeneracy and crystal field splitting. The spin–orbit coupling scenario is ruled out, even though 3d spin–orbit coupling can reproduce the experimental spectrum without including temperature. A combined polarization- and crystal-field-splitting-dependent analysis indicates asymmetric ΔCF–orbital interactions for the TiO6 cluster [Ti3+:3d 1(t 2g 1)], different from the orbital–lattice interactions reported for the NiO6 cluster [Ni3+:3d 7(t 2g 6 eg 1)]. The orbital polarization is defined in terms of the normalized electron occupancies in orbitals with xy and xz(yz) symmetries, and nearly complete orbital polarization (more than 75%) is observed, indicating strongly reduced orbital fluctuations due to the correlation effects. This is consistent with the density of states for titanates based on local density approximation plus dynamical mean-field theory calculations.

CTM4DOC: electronic structure analysis from X-ray spectroscopy

Two electronic structure descriptions, one based on orbitals and the other based on term symbols, have been implemented in a new Matlab-based program, CTM4DOC. The program includes a graphical user interface that allows the user to explore the dependence of details of electronic structure in transition metal systems, both in the ground and core-hole excited states, on intra-atomic electron-electron, crystal-field and charge-transfer interactions. The program can also track the evolution of electronic structure features as the crystal-field parameters are systematically varied, generating Tanabe-Sugano-type diagrams. Examples on first-row transition metal systems are presented and the implications on the interpretation of X-ray spectra and on the understanding of low-spin, high-spin and mixed-spin systems are discussed.

Experimental and theoretical correlations between vanadium K-edge X-ray absorption and Kβ emission spectra

A series of vanadium compounds was studied by K-edge X-ray absorption (XAS) and K[Formula: see text] X-ray emission spectroscopies (XES). Qualitative trends within the datasets, as well as comparisons between the XAS and XES data, illustrate the information content of both methods. The complementary nature of the chemical insight highlights the success of this dual-technique approach in characterizing both the structural and electronic properties of vanadium sites. In particular, and in contrast to XAS or extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS), we demonstrate that valence-to-core XES is capable of differentiating between ligating atoms with the same identity but different bonding character. Finally, density functional theory (DFT) and time-dependent DFT calculations enable a more detailed, quantitative interpretation of the data. We also establish correction factors for the computational protocols through calibration to experiment. These hard X-ray methods can probe vanadium ions in any oxidation or spin state, and can readily be applied to sample environments ranging from solid-phase catalysts to biological samples in frozen solution. Thus, the combined XAS and XES approach, coupled with DFT calculations, provides a robust tool for the study of vanadium atoms in bioinorganic chemistry.