title: Photodissociation structural dynamics of trirutheniumdodecacarbonyl investigated by X-ray transient absorption spectroscopy.
abstract: The molecular and electronic structures of the transient intermediates generated from the photolysis of trirutheniumdodecacarbonyl, Ru3(CO)12, by ultrafast UV (351 nm) laser excitation were investigated using X-ray transient absorption (XTA) spectroscopy. The electronic configuration change and nuclear rearrangement after the dissociation of carbonyls were observed at ruthenium K-edge X-ray absorption near edge structure and X-ray absorption fine structure spectra. Analysis of XTA data, acquired after 100, 200, and 400 ps and 300 ns time delay following the photoexcitation, identified the presence of three intermediate species with Ru3(CO)10 being the most dominating one. The results set an example of applying XTA in capturing both transient electronic and nuclear configurations in metal clusters simulating catalysts in chemical reactions.
authors.affiliation: Chemical Sciences & Engineering Division and ‡Advanced Photon Source, 9700 South Cass Avenue, Argonne National Laboratory , Lemont, Illinois 60439, United States.
authors.forename: Michael R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Harpham
authors.forename: Andrew B
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: Stickrath
authors.forename: Xiaoyi
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Jier
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Michael W
authors.initials: MW
authors.lastname: Mara
authors.forename: Lin X
authors.initials: LX
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Di-Jia
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Liu