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The electron effective attenuation length (EAL) in free, neutral ethane clusters has been determined at 40 eV kinetic energy by combining carbon 1s x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and theoretical lineshape modeling. More specifically, theory is employed to form model spectra on a grid in cluster size (N) and EAL (λ), allowing N and λ to be determined by optimizing the goodness-of-fit Χ²(N, λ) between model and observed spectra. Experimentally, the clusters were produced in an adiabatic-expansion setup using helium as the driving gas, spanning a range of 100-600 molecules in mean cluster size. The effective attenuation length was determined to be 8.4?±?1.9 Å, in good agreement with an independent estimate of 10 Å formed on the basis of molecular electron-scattering data and Monte Carlo simulations. The aggregation state of the clusters as well as the cluster temperature and its importance to the derived EAL value are discussed in some depth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Formation and growth of neutral SO2clusters is investigated in an adiabatic-expansion setup by means of sulfur 2p (S2p) photoelectron spectroscopy and theoretical modeling. The shift in S2p ionization energy between the cluster and a single molecule, i.e., IE(cluster)-IE(monomer), is recorded and used to monitor the mean cluster size over a wide range of expansion conditions. The produced clusters were shown to fall into two different size regimes. Comparison between theoretical simulations and experimental observations suggests that while the smallest clusters belong to the ultrafine particle mode and have a liquid-like structure, the larger clusters belong to the accumulation mode of fine particles and possibly have a frozen cluster core. The transition between the two size/structure regimes occurs over a narrow interval in expansion conditions and may possibly reflect a change in growth mechanism from monomer addition to growth by cluster-cluster collisions. (c) Jarle Harnes, Mahmoud Abu-Samha, Mathias Winkler, and Knut J. Børve [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Free neutral methanol clusters produced by adiabatic expansion have been studied by photoelectron spectroscopy and line shape modeling. The results show that clusters belonging to two distinct size regimes can be produced by changing the expansion conditions. While the larger size regime can be well described by line shapes calculated for clusters consisting of hundreds of molecules, the smaller size regime corresponds to methanol oligomers, predominantly of cyclic structure. There is little contribution from dimers to the spectra. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carbon 1s photoelectron spectra for CF[sub 4] and CO have been measured at several photon energies near the carbon 1s threshold. The spectra have been analyzed in terms of the vibrational structure and the natural linewidth. For CO the vibrational structure shows evidence for anharmonicity in both the energy spacing and the intensity. Analysis of the results using an anharmonic model gives an equilibrium bond length for core-ionized CO that is 4.85 pm shorter than that of neutral CO. For CF[sub 4], the vibrational structure is very weak, and the analysis shows that the change in equilibrium CF bond length upon ionization is no more than 0.54 pm. Ab initio theoretical calculations give results in accord with these bond-length changes. The unusually small bond-length contraction in CF[sub 4] can be understood in terms of nonbonded fluorine—fluorine repulsion. The natural linewidth for core-ionized CO, 95 ± 5 meV, is essentially the same as that of CH[sub 4]. This result is in contrast with expectations based on the one-center model of Auger decay and earlier predictions based on semiempirical molecular orbital theory. More recent calculations indicate, however, that there is only a small difference between CO and CH[sub 4], in agreement with the observed result. For CF[sub 4], the natural linewidth is 77±6 meV. This value differs from that for CH[sub 4] in the direction expected from the electronegativities of hydrogen and fluorine, but is greater than the prediction based on semiempirical theory. The natural linewidth for CO with a carbon 1s electron excited to the 2π resonance is 83 meV, which is significantly less than is found for core-ionized CO. Although this difference is supported by theoretical calculations, the direction of the difference is counterintuitive. An overview is presented of the current state of experimental and theoretical knowledge on carbon 1s linewidths. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effective attenuation length (?) is determined to 5.7 ± 1.1 Å at an electronic kinetic energy of 30 eV for carbon disulfide, CS2, from sulphur 2p photoelectron spectroscopy and lineshape modelling of CS2 clusters at a temperature of 150-170 K. The present approach is based on exploring the relation between ? and the cluster-monomer chemical shift and width of the cluster peak. A priori knowledge of the cluster temperature is required. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Construction of accurate lineshape models for chlorosubstituted hydrocarbons is challenging. In this account the problem has been investigated thoroughly for the chloromethane series, CH4−n Cl n , n =1–4, using high-resolution experimental data and extensive theoretical calculations. The Contraction following ionization is a key parameter for a quantitative description of the vibrational excitation for all four molecules. We determine this quantity accurately for the title molecules and also propose approximate approaches that may applied to larger molecules. Having developed accurate vibrational lineshape models as well as reliable estimates of the instrumental broadening in each case, the carbon 1s hole lifetime broadening is determined from a fit to the experimental spectrum for each molecule. The resulting values for the lifetime broadening are 88±5meV for CH3Cl, 80±5meV for CH2Cl2, 74±5meV for CHCl3 and 62±5meV for CCl4. The lifetime widths decrease systematically with the number of chlorine substituents and correlate excellently with the valence occupancy of the core-ionized carbon. This indicates that the one-center model for Auger decay of the core hole is valid for the present series of molecules. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Molecular LiCl and Li2Cl2 have been studied in the vapor phase with valence photoelectron and photoelectron–photoion coincidence spectroscopies. These two techniques determine the binding energies in fundamentally different ways. Binding energies obtained from photoelectron spectra are usually taken as the vertical ionization energies of the corresponding electronic states. In cases with several overlapping bands, corresponding to different electronic states, the coincidence measurement can separate the bands if the respective final states fragment differently. This applies well to the monomer case. To facilitate the determination of state-specific ionization energies in the dimeric molecule, a theoretical Franck–Condon analysis has been carried out. Moreover, ab initio coupled-cluster and density-functional-theory calculations have been used to analyze the fragmentation pattern based on asymptotic dissociation energies. The fragmentation pattern is largely common to all the accessible valence-ionized states of the dimer, consistent with rapid conversion to the ionic ground state before fragmentation. However, the highest-lying state of Li2Cl2 +, 2 A g , shows enhanced propensity for Li+ as dissociation product. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The C 1s photoelectron spectrum of ethyl trifluoroacetate (CF3—CO—O—CH2—CH3), also known as the ‘ESCA molecule’, is the most illustrative showcase of chemical shifts in photoelectron spectroscopy. The binding energies of the four carbon atoms of this molecule spread over more than 8 eV with energy separations ranging from 1.7 to 3.1 eV owing to different chemical environments and hence different charge states of these atoms. The paper discusses history and importance of this spectrum in the field of photoelectron spectroscopy starting from the time of invention of the ESCA technique. The main focus of the paper is a ‘revisit’ of this spectrum using the most modern experimental and computational tools. Large geometrical changes, different for each ionization site, and the presence of two conformers of ethyl trifluoroacetate influence the spectral lineshapes of all four C 1s lines. These effects are carefully modeled by theory and investigated in the experimental spectrum. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Mixed neutral molecular clusters have been produced by co-expansion of chloroform and methanol and characterized by carbon 1s photoelectron spectroscopy and theoretical modeling. The produced clusters are in the range 50–150 molecules and the clusters are not homogeneously mixed: chloroform is enriched in the bulk and methanol is found on or close to the surface. This is based on evidence from photoelectron depth profiling and molecular dynamics simulations of mixed clusters. The simulations suggest that methanol forms cyclic or linear oligomers in the surface layers of the mixed clusters. From thermodynamic models, the enrichment of methanol on the cluster surface can be rationalized from the difference in surface tension between the two pure components, which is connected to the qualitative differences in the respective bonding patterns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The local electronic structure of glycine in neutral, basic, and acidic aqueous solution is studied experimentally by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and theoretically by molecular dynamics simulations accompanied by first-principle electronic structure and spectrum calculations. Measured and computed nitrogen and carbon 1s binding energies are assigned to different local atomic environments, which are shown to be sensitive to the protonation/deprotonation of the amino and carboxyl functional groups at different pH values. We report the first accurate computation of core-level chemical shifts of an aqueous solute in various protonation states and explicitly show how the distributions of photoelectron binding energies (core-level peak widths) are related to the details of the hydrogen bond configurations, i.e. the geometries of the water solvation shell and the associated electronic screening. The comparison between the experiments and calculations further enables the separation of protonation-induced (covalent) and solvent-induced (electrostatic) screening contributions to the chemical shifts in the aqueous phase. The present core-level line shape analysis facilitates an accurate interpretation of photoelectron spectra from larger biomolecular solutes than glycine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Third-generation synchrotrons and high-resolution electron spectrometers coupled with modern theoretical techniques for molecular structure calculations have opened opportunities for measuring carbon 1s ionization energies in a large variety of complex molecules. Recent studies have provided new insights into the chemistry of substituent effects and on the effect of molecular conformation on inner-shell ionization energies. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Single-component clusters of methanol and methyl chloride have been produced by adiabatic expansion, and their carbon 1s photoelectron spectra were recorded using synchrotron radiation and a high-resolution electron analyzer. The experimental spectra are interpreted by means of theoretical models based on molecular dynamics simulations. The data are used to explore to what extent core-level photoelectron spectra may provide information on the bonding mechanism and the geometric structure of clusters of polar molecules. The results indicate that the cluster-to-monomer shift in ionization energy and also the width of the cluster peak may be used to distinguish between hydrogen bonding and weaker electrostatic interactions. Moreover, the larger width of the cluster peak in methanol clusters as compared to methyl chloride clusters is partly due to the structured surface of methanol clusters. Theoretical modeling greatly facilitates the analysis of core-level photoelectron spectra of molecular clusters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Investigates the carbon 1s ionization energies of the linear alkanes. Electronic properties of the alkane; Use of photoelectron spectroscopy for solid-state polyethylene; Polarizibility of the alkyl.

The electronic structure of 2(5H)-thiophenone in the gas phase was investigated by ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy and x-ray photoemission spectroscopy (XPS) and near edge x-ray absorption fine structure (NEXAFS) spectroscopy at the C 1s, O 1s, and S 2p edges. All assignments of the experimental results are supported by both ab-initio electron propagator outer-valence Green's function (OVGF) calculations for the valence photoemission bands and density functional theory (DFT) and relativistic time dependent DFT calculations for the core levels XPS and NEXAFS spectra. Overall good agreement between experiment and theory is observed; this is especially true for core electron excitations which has permitted an unambiguous assignment of the observed spectral features in terms of single-particle excitations to virtual molecular orbitals. The assignment of the valence band spectra based on OVGF calculations, although satisfactory, points to the importance of electron correlations effects that partially break the single particle picture of ionization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electrophilic addition of halo acids to alkenes is commonly discussed in terms of the stability of the corresponding carbocation intermediate. In solution, this may be rationalized by reference to Hammond's postulate. The corresponding gas‐phase reaction takes place via a concerted mechanism without the formation of a cationic intermediate. Still, the series ethene, propene, and 2‐methylpropene show excellent correlation between proton affinities (PA) and gas‐phase activation energies for the addition of halo acids, with the activation energy decreasing linearly with increasing PA. Thus, PA presents itself as a potential predictor of reactivity also in the gas phase. To explore this possibility, we have performed high‐level calculations of cation stability (as reflected in PA) and activation energy for addition of HCl (Ea) for 12 chlorinated ethenes and propenes. Contrary to the hypothesis, for the present set of substrates, the correlation between PA and Ea is weak, and moreover, for subsets such as the series ethene, 1,2‐dichloroethene, and tetrachloroethene, Eaincreases with increasing PA. An alternative approach of correlating Ea to carbon 1s ionization energies rather than PA shows moderately higher correlation overall and much better correlation within subsets of compounds that share the same number of chlorines attached to the carbon subject to electrophilic attack/core ionization. For electrophilic addition of HCl to substituted alkenes in the gas phase, carbocation stability shows poor correlation with the activation energy and may be unsuitable for predicting relative reaction rates for unchartered classes of reactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ambient pressure x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (APXPS) can provide a compelling platform for studying an analyte's oxidation and reduction reactions in solutions. This paper presents proof-of-principle operando measurements of a model organometallic complex, iron hexacyanide, in an aqueous solution using the dip-and-pull technique. The data demonstrates that the electrochemically active liquid meniscuses on the working electrodes can undergo controlled redox reactions which were observed using APXPS. A detailed discussion of several critical experimental considerations is included as guidance for anyone undertaking comparable experiments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Liquid–vapor interfaces, particularly those between aqueous solutions and air, drive numerous important chemical and physical processes in the atmosphere and in the environment. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy is an excellent method for the investigation of these interfaces due to its surface sensitivity, elemental and chemical specificity, and the possibility to obtain information on the depth distribution of solute and solvent species in the interfacial region. In this Perspective, we review the progress that was made in this field over the past decades and discuss the challenges that need to be overcome for investigations of heterogeneous reactions at liquid–vapor interfaces under close-to-realistic environmental conditions. We close with an outlook on where some of the most exciting and promising developments might lie in this field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Linear and nonlinear X-ray spectroscopy hold the promise to provide a complementary tool to the available ample body of terahertz to UV spectroscopic techniques, disclosing information about the electronic structure and the dynamics of a large variety of systems, spanning from transition metals to organic molecules. While experimental free electron laser facilities continue to develop, theory may take the lead in modeling and inspiring new cutting edge experiments, paving the way to their future use. As an example, the not-yet-available two-dimensional coherent X-ray spectroscopy (2DCXS), conceptually similar to 2D-NMR, is expected to provide a wealth of information about molecular structure and dynamics with an unprecedented level of detail. In the present contribution, we focus on the simulation of linear and non-linear (2DCXS) spectra of the ESCA molecule. The molecule has four inequivalent carbon K-edges and has been widely used as a benchmark for photoelectron spectroscopy. Two theoretical approaches for the computation of the system manifold of states, namely, TDDFT and RASSCF/RASPT2, are compared, and the possible signals that may appear in a 2DCXS experiment and their origin are surveyed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spectra reflecting the formation of single-site double-core-hole pre-edge states involving the N 1s and C 1s core levels of acetonitrile have been recorded by means of high-resolution single-channel photoelectron spectroscopy using hard X-ray excitation. The data are interpreted with the aid of ab initio quantum chemical calculations, which take into account the direct or conjugate nature of this type of electronic states. Furthermore, the photoelectron spectra of N 1s and C 1s singly core-ionized states have been measured. From these spectra, the chemical shift between the two C 1s−1 states is estimated. Finally, by utilizing C 1s single and double core-ionization potentials, initial and final state effects for the two inequivalent carbon atoms have been investigated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy of bovine serum albumin (BSA) in a liquid jet is used to investigate the electronic structure of a solvated protein, yielding insight into charge transfer mechanisms in biological systems in their natural environment. No structural damage was observed in BSA following X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy in a liquid jet sample environment. Carbon and nitrogen atoms in different chemical environments were resolved in the X-ray photoelectron spectra of both solid and solvated BSA. The calculations of charge distributions demonstrate the difficulty of assigning chemical contributions in complex systems in an aqueous environment. The high-resolution X-ray core electron spectra recorded are unchanged upon solvation. A comparison of the valence bands of BSA in both phases is also presented. These bands display a higher sensitivity to solvation effects. The ionization energy of the solvated BSA is determined at 5.7 ± 0.3 eV. Experimental results are compared with theoretical calculations to distinguish the contributions of various molecular components to the electronic structure. This comparison points towards the role of water in hole delocalization in proteins. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of modern photoelectron spectroscopy is reviewed with a special focus on the importance of research at Uppsala University and at Berkeley. The influence of two pioneers, Kai Siegbahn and Dave Shirley, is underlined. Early interaction between the two centers helped to kick-start the field. Both laboratories have continued to play an important role in the field, both in terms of creating new experimental capabilities and developing the theoretical understanding of the spectroscopic processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mixed CH4/CF4 clusters as well as pure clusters of CF4 were produced by adiabatic expansion and studied by carbon 1s (C1s) X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Evidence is presented that CH4 and CF4 do indeed form binary clusters in CH4/CF4 coexpansion experiments and that these clusters exhibit radial structure; i.e., CF4 is primarily found in the bulk. The interpretation of the photoelectron spectra is supported by calculations of C1s ionization energies based on theoretical clusters models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The carbon 1s photoelectron spectrum of 1-pentyne has been recorded with resolution high enough that contributions from inequivalent carbon atoms can be determined. The spectrum is not well described by theoretical lineshape models that are based on either of the anti or the gauche conformations alone. An improved fit is obtained by combining the two single-conformer models, with the composition determined in the fit. This analysis yields 29±3% anti and 71±3% gauche conformers. This result is in agreement with results based on microwave spectroscopy and gas-phase electron diffraction. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The electronic structure of short-chain thiophenes (thiophene, 2,2'2'-bithiophene, and 2,2':5',2"-terthiophene) in the gas phase has been investigated by combining the outcomes of Near-Edge X-ray-Absorption Fine-Structure (NEXAFS) and X-ray Photoemission Spectroscopy (XPS) at the C K-edge with those of density functional theory (DFT) calculations. The calculated NEXAFS spectra provide a comprehensive description of the main experimental features and allow their attribution. The evolution of the C1s NEXAFS spectral features is analyzed as a function of the number of thiophene rings; a tendency to stabilization for increasing chain length is found. The computation of the binding energy allows to assign the experimental XPS peaks to the different carbon sites on the basis of both the inductive effects generated by the presence of the S atom as well as of the differential aromaticity effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Avobenzone (AVOB) molecule is very photoactive and undergoes irreversible degradation upon irradiation. We studied its valence and core-level (C1s and O1s) photoionisation and subsequent photofragmentation with photoelectron spectroscopy and photoelectron–photoion–photoion coincidence (PEPIPICO) spectroscopy. AVOB is one of the largest molecules studied with this technique. The results show that the AVOB molecule dissociates into an extensive range of fragments by different pathways with little element or site-selectivity. The coincident maps were used to determine selected fragment separation sequences by analysing the slopes of patterns from ion pairs after the core ionisation. Charge delocalisation over the benzene rings and their relative stability favor fragmentation by cleavage of the bridge between them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: A pump‐probe experiment in the tetrafluoro‐methane (CF4) molecule has been theoretically simulated, allowing one to access electron dynamics in its natural time scale: the attosecond. The chosen pump and probe pulses can be currently produced in most attosecond laboratories. In this scheme, CF4 is first ionized by an extreme UV (XUV) attosecond pulse and the charge dynamics induced in the corresponding cation is probed with a few‐femtosecond visible light (VIS) pulse. We demonstrate that modulations in the calculated photoelectron spectra with the pump‐probe delay reflect the dynamics of the XUV‐induced electronic wave packet. In particular, from the analysis of these modulations in the interval of time delays where the pump and probe pulses do not overlap any more, one has access to the amplitudes and phases of the different components of the electronic wave packet generated by the attosecond pulse. These reflect a complex dynamics that basically consists of very fast charge fluctuations occurring all over the molecule without any preference for a particular molecular site. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

X-ray photoemission spectroscopy is used in a great variety of research fields; one observable is the sample's stoichiometry. The stoichiometry can be deduced based on the expectation that the ionization cross sections for innershell Orbitals are independent of the molecular composition. Here we used chlorine-substituted ethanes in the gas phase to investigate the apparent carbon stoichiometry. We observe a nonstoichiometric ratio for a wide range of photon energies, the ratio exhibits x-ray-absorption fine structure spectroscopy (EXAFS)-like oscillations and hundreds of eV above the C\s ionization approaches a value far from 1. These effects can be accounted for by considering the scattering of the outgoing photoelectron, which we model by multiple-scattering EXAFS calculations, and by considering the effects of losses due to monopole shakeup and shakeoff and to intramolecular inelastic scattering processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Free neutral CO2 clusters were produced by adiabatic expansion and characterized by carbon 1s (C1s) photoelectron spectroscopy using synchrotron radiation. The shift in C1s ionization energy (IE) between the cluster and the monomer, i.e., ΔIE = IE(cluster) -- IE(monomer), was found to vary systematically with the experimental conditions. A functional relationship is established between the mean cluster size in the beam, N , and ΔIE, in good agreement with theoretical calculations of shifts in ionization energy for model clusters. This makes it possible to use core-level photoelectron spectroscopy to monitor the mean cluster size and also to estimate N from expansion conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Single-component clusters of methyl chloride and methyl bromide have been produced by adiabatic expansion and their C 1s, Cl 2p and Br 3d photoelectron spectra recorded using synchrotron radiation and a high-resolution electron analyzer. The experimentally observed cluster-to-monomer shifts in core-level ionization energies are interpreted in terms of theoretical models based on molecular dynamics (MD) in conjunction with polarizable force fields developed and validated in the course of this work. MD simulations have also been used to explore the global and local structure of the clusters, providing evidence for a predominance of anti-parallel, head-to-tail arrangement of neighboring molecules. Whereas the cluster-to-monomer shifts are strongly dominated by polarization effects, the polarization contribution is very similar for ionization of carbon and the halogen, respectively. The difference in cluster shifts between the two ionization sites within the same molecule, C vs. Cl or C vs. Br, is thus determined by permanent electrostatic moments, i.e. the magnitude and direction of the permanent dipole moment and the local alignment of dipoles. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]