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The electronic structure and excited state properties of a series of iron carbene photosensitizers are elucidated through a combination of X-ray absorption measurements and density functional theory calculations. The X-ray absorption spectra are discussed with regard to the unusual bonding environment in these carbene complexes, highlighting the difference between ferrous and ferric carbene complexes. The valence electronic structure of the core excited Fe III - 3 d 5 complex is predicted by calculating the properties of a Co III - 3 d 6 carbene complex using the Z+1 approximation. Insight is gained into the potential of sigma-donating ligands as strategy to tune properties for light harvesting applications.

Monolayers of C60 and the functionalised fullerene phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) have been prepared on Au(1 1 1) by in situ electrospray deposition. The observation of super-spectator/super-Auger decay in resonant photoemission spectroscopy (RPES) of C60 confirms monolayers prepared using electrospray undergo ultra-fast charge transfer as per previous studies of C60 monolayers on Au(1 1 1) prepared by sublimation. For PCBM, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and near-edge X-ray absorption fine structure (NEXAFS) show the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) of the molecule overlaps the Fermi-level of the metal surface. Despite this, no evidence of ultra-fast charge transfer is observed in the RPES of PCBM.