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© 2018 Elsevier Inc. Using a multi-technical approach, we studied the oxidation of anatase TiO 2 (1 0 1)-supported vanadium (V) clusters at room temperature. We found by ex situ XPS that the highest oxidation state is +4 at sub-monolayer coverage regardless of the O 2 pressure, and STM studies revealed that the initial oxidation proceeds through oxygen-induced disintegration of V clusters into monomeric VO 2 species. By contrast, for ∼2 monolayer V coverage, a partial oxidation to V 5+ is achieved. By in situ APXPS measurements, we found that V can be maintained in the V 5+ oxidation state irrespective of the coverage; however, in the sub-monolayer range, an O 2 pressure of at least ∼1 × 10 −5 mbar is needed. Our results suggest an enhanced reducibility of V in direct contact with the TiO 2 support compared to V in the 2nd layer, which is in line with the observed optimum V 2 O 5 loading in catalytic applications just slightly below a full monolayer. (Less)

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.