Fe L-Edge X-ray Absorption Spectra of Fe(II) Polypyridyl Spin Crossover Complexes from Time-Dependent Density Functional Theory

Simulating temperature and tautomeric effects for vibrationally resolved XPS of biomolecules: Combining time-dependent and time-independent approaches to fingerprint carbonyl groups

Carbonyl groups (C=O) play crucial roles in the photophysics and photochemistry of biological systems. O1s x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy allows for targeted investigation of the C=O group, and the coupling between C=O vibration and O1s ionization is reflected in the fine structures. To elucidate its characteristic vibronic features, systematic Franck-Condon simulations were conducted for six common biomolecules, including three purines (xanthine, caffeine, and hypoxanthine) and three pyrimidines (thymine, 5F-uracil, and uracil). The complexity of simulation for these biomolecules lies in accounting for temperature effects and potential tautomeric variations. We combined the time-dependent and time-independent methods to efficiently account for the temperature effects and to provide explicit assignments, respectively. For hypoxanthine, the tautomeric effect was considered by incorporating the Boltzmann population ratios of two tautomers. The simulations demonstrated good agreement with experimental spectra, enabling differentiation of two types of carbonyl oxygens with subtle local structural differences, positioned between two nitrogens (O1) or between one carbon and one nitrogen (O2). The analysis provided insights into the coupling between C=O vibration and O1s ionization, consistently showing an elongation of the C=O bond length (by 0.08-0.09 Å) upon O1s ionization.

Photochemical Formation and Electronic Structure of an Alkane σ-Complex from Time-Resolved Optical and X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy

C-H bond activation reactions with transition metals typically proceed via the formation of alkane σ-complexes, where an alkane C-H σ-bond binds to the metal. Due to the weak nature of metal-alkane bonds, σ-complexes are challenging to characterize experimentally. Here, we establish the complete pathways of photochemical formation of the model σ-complex Cr(CO)5-alkane from Cr(CO)6 in octane solution and characterize the nature of its metal-ligand bonding interactions. Using femtosecond optical absorption spectroscopy, we find photoinduced CO dissociation from Cr(CO)6 to occur within the 100 fs time resolution of the experiment. Rapid geminate recombination by a fraction of molecules is found to occur with a time constant of 150 fs. The formation of bare Cr(CO)5 in its singlet ground state is followed by complexation of an octane molecule from solution with a time constant of 8.2 ps. Picosecond X-ray absorption spectroscopy at the Cr L-edge and O K-edge provides unique information on the electronic structure of the Cr(CO)5-alkane σ-complex from both the metal and ligand perspectives. Based on clear experimental observables, we find substantial destabilization of the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital upon coordination of the C-H bond to the undercoordinated Cr center in the Cr(CO)5-alkane σ-complex, and we define this as a general, orbital-based descriptor of the metal-alkane bond. Our study demonstrates the value of combining optical and X-ray spectroscopic methods as complementary tools to study the stability and reactivity of alkane σ-complexes in their role as the decisive intermediates in C-H bond activation reactions.

Interpreting the Cu-O2 Antibonding Nature in Two Cu-O2 Complexes from Cu L-Edge X-ray Absorption Spectra

Cu-O2 structures play important roles in bioinorganic chemistry and enzyme catalysis, where the bonding between the Cu and O2 parts serves as a fundamental research concern. Here, we performed a multiconfigurational study on the copper L2,3-edge X-ray absorption spectra (XAS) of two copper enzyme model complexes to gain a better understanding of the antibonding nature from the clearly interpreted structure-spectroscopy relation. We obtained spectra in good agreement with the experiments by using the restricted active space second-order perturbation theory (RASPT2) method, which facilitated reliable chemical analysis. Spectral feature interpretations were supported by computing the spin-orbit natural transition orbitals. All major features were assigned to be mainly from Cu 2p to antibonding orbitals between Cu 3d and O2 π*, Cu 3d-πO-O* (type A), and a few also to mixed antibonding/bonding orbitals between Cu 3d and O2 π, Cu 3d ± πO-O (type M). Our calculations provided a clear illustration of the interactions between Cu 3d and O2 π*/π orbitals that are carried in the metal L-edge XAS.

Vibrationally-Resolved X-ray Photoelectron Spectra of Six Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons from First-Principles Simulations

Vibrationally resolved C 1s X-ray photoelectron spectra (XPS) of a series of six polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs; phenanthrene, coronene, naphthalene, anthracene, tetracene, and pentacene) were computed by combining the full core hole density functional theory and the Franck-Condon simulations with the inclusion of the Duschinsky rotation effect. Simulated spectra of phenanthrene, coronene, and naphthalene agree well with experiments both in core binding energies (BEs) and profiles, which validate the accuracy of our predictions for the rest molecules with no high-resolution experiments. We found that three types of carbons i (inner C), p (peripheral C bonded to three C atoms), and h (peripheral C bonded to an H atom) show decreasing BEs. In linear PAHs (the latter four), h-type carbons further split into h1 or h2 (on inner or edge benzene ring) subtypes with chemical shifts of ca. 0.2-0.4 eV. All major Franck-Condon-active modes are characterized to be in-plane vibrations: low-frequency (<800 cm^-1) C-C ring deformation modes play an essential role in determining the peak asymmetries; and for each h-type carbon a high-frequency (ca. 3600 cm^-1) C*-H stretching mode is responsible for the high-energy tail. We found that core ionization leads to reduction of all C*-C and C*-H bond lengths and ring deformation with a definite direction. Based on theoretical spectra of four linear PAHs, we found asymptotic relations and anticipated possible spectral features for even larger linear PAHs. Our calculations provide accurate reference spectra for XPS characterizations of PAHs, which are useful in understanding the vibronic coupling effects in this family.

Probing Solute-Solvent Interactions of Transition Metal Complexes Using L-Edge Absorption Spectroscopy

In order to tailor solution-phase chemical reactions involving transition metal complexes, it is critical to understand how their valence electronic charge distributions are affected by the solution environment. Here, solute-solvent interactions of a solvatochromic mixed-ligand iron complex were investigated using X-ray absorption spectroscopy at the transition metal L_2,3-edge. Due to the selectivity of the corresponding core excitations to the iron 3d orbitals, the method grants direct access to the valence electronic structure around the iron center and its response to interactions with the solvent environment. A linear increase of the total L_2,3-edge absorption cross section as a function of the solvent Lewis acidity is revealed. The effect is caused by relative changes in different metal-ligand-bonding channels, which preserve local charge densities while increasing the density of unoccupied states around the iron center. These conclusions are corroborated by a combination of molecular dynamics and spectrum simulations based on time-dependent density functional theory. The simulations reproduce the spectral trends observed in the X-ray but also optical absorption experiments. Our results underscore the importance of solute-solvent interactions when aiming for an accurate description of the valence electronic structure of solvated transition metal complexes and demonstrate how L_2,3-edge absorption spectroscopy can aid in understanding the impact of the solution environment on intramolecular covalency and the electronic charge distribution.

Theoretical assessment of vibrationally resolved C1s X-ray photoelectron spectra of simple cyclic molecules

Vibrationally-resolved K-edge XPS simulation by the full/equivalent core-hole method is enabled and assessment of the C1s spectra of cyclic molecules shows excellent/acceptable agreement with the experiment.

Element-specific characterization of transient electronic structure of solvated Fe(II) complexes with time-resolved soft X-ray absorption spectroscopy

Polypyridyl transition-metal complexes are an intriguing class of compounds due to the relatively facile chemical designs and variations in ligand-field strengths that allow for spin-state changes and hence electronic configurations in response to external perturbations such as pressure and light. Light-activated spin-conversion complexes have possible applications in a variety of molecular-based devices, and ultrafast excited-state evolution in these complexes is of fundamental interest for understanding of the origins of spin-state conversion in metal complexes. Knowledge of the interplay of structure and valence charge distributions is important to understand which degrees of freedom drive spin-conversion and which respond in a favorable (or unfavorable) manner. To track the response of the constituent components, various types of time-resolved X-ray probe methods have been utilized for a broad range of chemical and biological systems relevant to catalysis, solar energy conversions, and functional molecular devices. In particular, transient soft X-ray spectroscopy of solvated molecules can offer complementary information on the detailed electronic structures and valence charge distributions of photoinduced intermediate species: First-row transition-metal L-edges consist of 2p-3d transitions, which directly probe the unoccupied valence density of states and feature lifetime broadening in the range of 100 meV, making them sensitive spectral probes of metal-ligand interactions. In this Account, we present some of our recent progress in employing picosecond and femtosecond soft X-ray pulses from synchrotron sources to investigate element specific valence charge distributions and spin-state evolutions in Fe(II) polypyridyl complexes via core-level transitions. Our results on transient L-edge spectroscopy of Fe(II) complexes clearly show that the reduction in σ-donation is compensated by significant attenuation of π-backbonding upon spin-crossover. This underscores the important information contained in transient metal L-edge spectroscopy on changes in the 3d orbitals including oxidation states, orbital symmetries, and covalency, which largely define the chemistry of these complexes. In addition, ligand K-edge spectroscopy reveals the "ligand view" of the valence charge density by probing 1s-2p core-level transitions at the K-edge of light elements such as nitrogen, carbon, and oxygen. In the case of Fe(II) spin-conversion complexes, additional details of the metal-ligand interactions can be obtained by this type of X-ray spectroscopy. With new initiatives in and construction of X-ray free-electron laser sources, we expect time-resolved soft X-ray spectroscopy to pave a new way to study electronic and molecular dynamics of functional materials, thereby answering many interesting scientific questions in inorganic chemistry and material science.

Characterizing the Intermediates Compound I and II in the Cytochrome P450 Catalytic Cycle with Nonlinear X-ray Spectroscopy: A Simulation Study

Cytochrome P450 enzymes are an important family of biocatalysts that oxidize chemically inert CH bonds. There are many unresolved questions regarding the catalytic reaction intermediates, in particular P450 Compound I (Cpd-I) and II (Cpd-II). By using simple molecular models, we simulate various X-ray spectroscopy signals, including X-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES), resonant inelastic X-ray scattering (RIXS), and stimulated X-ray Raman spectroscopy (SXRS) of the low- and high-spin states of Cpd-I and II. Characteristic peak patterns are presented and connected to the corresponding electronic structures. These X-ray spectroscopy techniques are complementary to more conventional infrared and optical spectroscopy and they help to elucidate the evolving electronic structures of transient species along the reaction path.