Revealing charge anisotropies in metal compounds via high-purity x-ray polarimetry

Linear polarization analysis of hard x-rays is employed to probe electronic anisotropies in metal-containing complexes with very high selectivity. We use the pronounced linear dichroism of nuclear resonant x-ray scattering to determine electric field gradients in an iron(II) containing compound as t...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:arXiv.org 2020-08
Main Authors: Scherthan, Lena, Wolny, Juliusz A, Faus, Isabelle, Leupold, Olaf, Schulze, Kai S, Höfer, Sebastian, Loetzsch, Robert, Marx-Glowna, Berit, Anson, Christopher E, Powell, Annie K, Uschmann, Ingo, Wille, Hans-Christian, Paulus, Gerhard G, Schünemann, Volker, Röhlsberger, Ralf
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Coordination compounds
Dichroism
Electric fields
Electronic structure
Linear polarization
Metal compounds
Molecular structure
Phase transitions
Polarimetry
Selectivity
Temperature dependence
Valence
X-ray scattering
X-rays
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Summary:Linear polarization analysis of hard x-rays is employed to probe electronic anisotropies in metal-containing complexes with very high selectivity. We use the pronounced linear dichroism of nuclear resonant x-ray scattering to determine electric field gradients in an iron(II) containing compound as they evolve during a temperature-dependent high-spin/low-spin phase transition. This method constitutes a novel approach to analyze changes in the electronic structure of metal-containing molecules as function of external parameters or stimuli. The polarization selectivity of the technique allows us to monitor defect concentrations of electronic valence states across phase transitions. This opens new avenues to trace electronic changes and their precursors that are connected to structural and electronic dynamics in the class of metal compounds ranging from simple molecular solids to biological molecules.
ISSN:2331-8422