The Role of the Lowest Excited Triplet State in Defining the Rate of Photoaquation of Hexacyanometalates.

Photosolvation is a type of ligand substitution reaction started by irradiation of a solution with light, triggering the replacement of a ligand with a molecule from the solvent. The excited state is created through many possible pathways. For the class of hexacyanides of groups 8 and 9 of the periodic table, irradiation in the ligand field band is followed by intersystem crossing to the lowest excited triplet state, which we propose to mediate the photoaquation reaction in this class of complexes. In this study, we present time-resolved X-ray absorption data showing indications of the triplet intermediate state in the cobalt(III) hexacyanide complex and we discuss general aspects of the photoaquation reaction in comparison with reported data on the isoelectronic iron(II) hexacyanide. Quantum chemical calculations are analyzed and suggest that the nature of the lowest excited triplet state in each complex can explain the drastically different rate of reactions observed.

Metal-water covalency in the photo-aquated ferrocyanide complex as seen by multi-edge picosecond X-ray absorption.

In this work, we investigate the photo-aquation reaction of the ferrocyanide anion with multi-edge picosecond soft X-ray spectroscopy. Combining the information of the iron L-edge with nitrogen and oxygen K-edges, we carry out a complete characterization of the bonding channels in the [Fe(CN)5(H2O)]3- photo-product. We observe clear spectral signatures of covalent bonding between water and the metal, reflecting the mixing of the Fe dz2 orbital with the 3a1 and 4a1 orbitals of H2O. Additional fingerprints related to the symmetry reduction and the resulting loss in orbital degeneracy are also reported. The implications of the elucidated fingerprints in the context of future ultra-fast experiments are also discussed.

From the Free Ligand to the Transition Metal Complex: FeEDTA- Formation Seen at Ligand K-Edges.

Chelating agents are an integral part of transition metal complex chemistry with broad biological and industrial relevance. The hexadentate chelating agent ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) has the capability to bind to metal ions at its two nitrogen and four of its carboxylate oxygen sites. We use resonant inelastic X-ray scattering at the 1s absorption edge of the aforementioned elements in EDTA and the iron(III)-EDTA complex to investigate the impact of the metal-ligand bond formation on the electronic structure of EDTA. Frontier orbital distortions, occupation changes, and energy shifts through metal-ligand bond formation are probed through distinct spectroscopic signatures.

Photo-induced ligand substitution of Cr(CO)6 in 1-pentanol probed by time resolved X-ray absorption spectroscopy.

Cr(CO)6 was investigated by X-ray absorption spectroscopy. The spectral signature at the metal edge provides information about the back-bonding of the metal in this class of complexes. Among the processes it participates in is ligand substitution in which a carbonyl ligand is ejected through excitation to a metal to ligand charge transfer (MLCT) band. The unsaturated carbonyl Cr(CO)5 is stabilized by solution media in square pyramidal geometry and further reacts with the solvent. Multi-site-specific probing after photoexcitation was used to investigate the ligand substitution photoreaction process which is a common first step in catalytic processes involving metal carbonyls. The data were analysed with the aid of TD-DFT computations for different models of photoproducts and signatures for ligand rearrangement after substitution were found. The rearrangement was found to occur in about 790 ps in agreement with former studies of the photoreaction.

How Hydrogen Bonding Amplifies Isomeric Differences in Pyridones toward Strong Changes in Acidity and Tautomerism.

Steric hindrance of hydration and hydrogen bond enhancement by localized charges have been identified as key factors for the massive chemical differences between the hydroxypyridine/pyridone isomers in aqueous solution. While all isomers occur mainly in the hydroxypyridine form in the gas phase, they differ by more than 3 orders of magnitude both in their acidity and tautomeric equilibrium constants upon hydration. By monitoring the electronic and solvation structures as a function of the protonation state and the O- substitution position on the pyridine ring, the amplification of the isomeric differences in aqueous solution has been investigated. Near-edge X-ray absorption fine structure (NEXAFS) measurements at the N K-edge served as the probe of the chemical state. The combination of molecular dynamics simulations, complete active space self-consistent field (CASSCF), and time-dependent density functional theory (TD-DFT) spectral calculations contributes to unraveling the principles of tautomerism and acidity in multiple biochemical systems based on tautomerism.