Stimulated X-ray Raman scattering - a critical assessment of the building block of nonlinear X-ray spectroscopy.

With the invention of femtosecond X-ray free-electron lasers (XFELs), studies of light-induced chemical reaction dynamics and structural dynamics reach a new era, allowing for time-resolved X-ray diffraction and spectroscopy. To ultimately probe coherent electron and nuclear dynamics on their natural time and length scales, coherent nonlinear X-ray spectroscopy schemes have been proposed. In this contribution, we want to critically assess the experimental realisation of nonlinear X-ray spectroscopy at current-day XFEL sources, by presenting first experimental attempts to demonstrate stimulated resonant X-ray Raman scattering in molecular gas targets.

An ultra-high vacuum chamber for scattering experiments featuring in-vacuum continuous in-plane variation of the angle between entrance and exit vacuum ports.

A concept that enables in-vacuum continuous variation of the angle between two ports in one plane has been developed and implemented. The vacuum chamber allows for measuring scattering cross sections as a function of scattering angle and is intended for resonant inelastic X-ray scattering experiments. The angle between the ports can be varied in the range of 30°-150°, while the pressure change is less than 2 × 10(-10) mbars.

Chemical reduction of actinides probed by resonant inelastic X-ray scattering.

The study addresses the possibilities of immobilizing the mobile species of actinides in the geosphere using metallic iron. Sorption on corroding iron is well-known, but there have been uncertainties with regard to the possibilities of reducing the actinyl species to sparingly soluble oxides and, thereby, permanently immobilizing them. Resonant inelastic X-ray scattering (RIXS) measurements at the actinide 5d edges on Fe foils exposed to uranium(VI) and neptunium(V) solutions in groundwater unambigiously indicate reduction of actinides to, respectively, uranium(IV) and neptunium(IV) on iron surfaces. The reduction manifests itself in an appearance of distinct specific signatures of uranium(IV) and neptunium(IV) in the RIXS profile of 5f-5f excitations. Such signatures and RIXS intensity/cross-section behavior with varying energy of incident photons can be reproduced by model atomic-multiplet calculations of the RIXS spectra. By normalizing the RIXS signal of corresponding 5f-5f excitations to core-to-core 6p-to-5d characteristic fluorescence transitions of actinides, their reduction rates on Fe samples with different exposure to actinide solutions can be estimated. Observed reduction implies similar processes in the nuclear waste canister thus suggesting reduced probability of nuclear waste release with ground waters from the canister.

Electronic structure of water molecules confined in a micelle lattice.

Oxygen K absorption and emission spectra of water molecules confined in dodecyltrimethyl ammonium chloride micelle structures are presented. The local electronic structure of the water molecules is found to be dramatically different from the electronic structure of water molecules in the gas-phase as well as in liquid water. Hybridization with states of the ions in the surrounding ions is directly observed, and evidence for stabilization of the water molecules relative to molecules in bulk water is found.

Structural conformation in a poly(ethylene oxide) film determined by X-ray emission spectroscopy.

The electronic structure of pol(ethylene oxide) (PEO) in a thin (<1 mu) film sample was experimentally probed by X-ray emission spectroscopy. Both nonresonant and resonant X-ray emission spectra were simulated by using density functional theory (DFT) applied to four different models representing different conformations in the polymer. Calculated spectra were compared with experimental results for the PEO film. It was found that the best fit was obtained with the polymer conformation in PEO electrolytes from which the salt (LiMF6, M = P, As, or Sb) had been removed. This conformation is different from the crystalline bulk polymer and implies that film casting, commonly used to form electrolytes for Li polymer batteries, induces the same conformation in the polymer not depending upon the presence of salt.

Photoinduced formation of N2 molecules in ammonium compounds.

Via fluorescence yield (FY) and resonant inelastic scattering spectroscopy in the soft X-ray range we find that soft X-rays induce formation of N2 molecules in solid NH4Cl and in related compounds. The nitrogen molecules form weak bonds in NH4Cl, so that a substantial fraction of the molecules remains in the sample. From measurements of the FY as a function of exposure and temperature, the rates for the photochemical processes are estimated. At elevated temperatures (363 K), several nitrogen atoms are removed from the sample per incoming photon. At lower temperatures (233 K), the rate is reduced to around 0.02 nitrogen atoms for each incoming photon. Virtually all these atoms form N2 molecules which are bound in the sample. The generality and implications of these results are briefly discussed.