title: Enhancing catalytic activity by narrowing local energy gaps--X-ray studies of a manganese water oxidation catalyst.
abstract: Changes in the local electronic structure of the Mn 3d orbitals of a Mn catalyst derived from a dinuclear Mn(III) complex during the water oxidation cycle were investigated ex situ by X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) and resonant inelastic X-ray scattering (RIXS) analyses. Detailed information about the Mn 3d orbitals, especially the local HOMO-LUMO gap on Mn sites revealed by RIXS analyses, indicated that the enhancement in catalytic activity (water oxidation) originated from the narrowing of the local HOMO-LUMO gap when electrical voltage and visible light illumination were applied simultaneously to the Mn catalytic system.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Methods for Material Development, Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin fur Materialien und Energie, Albert-Einstein-Str. 15, 12489 Berlin (Germany). jie.xiao@helmholtz-berlin.de.
authors.forename: Jie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Xiao
authors.forename: Munirah
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Khan
authors.forename: Archana
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Singh
authors.forename: Edlira
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Suljoti
authors.forename: Leone
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Spiccia
authors.forename: Emad F
authors.initials: EF
authors.lastname: Aziz
mesh_terms: D002384:Catalysis; D004583:Electrons; D008345:Manganese / Q000737:chemistry*; D010084:Oxidation-Reduction; D014867:Water / Q000737:chemistry*; D014965:X-Rays
chemical_list: D014867:Water; D008345:Manganese
keywords: charge transfer; electrochemistry; manganese; water chemistry; x-ray absorption spectroscopy