A new route for enantio-sensitive structure determination by photoelectron scattering on molecules in the gas phase.

X-Ray as well as electron diffraction are powerful tools for structure determination of molecules. Studies on randomly oriented molecules in the gas phase address cases in which molecular crystals cannot be generated or the interaction-free molecular structure is to be addressed. Such studies usually yield partial geometrical information, such as interatomic distances. Here, we present a complementary approach, which allows obtaining insight into the structure, handedness, and even detailed geometrical features of molecules in the gas phase. Our approach combines Coulomb explosion imaging, the information that is encoded in the molecular-frame diffraction pattern of core-shell photoelectrons and ab initio computations. Using a loop-like analysis scheme, we are able to deduce specific molecular coordinates with sensitivity even to the handedness of chiral molecules and the positions of individual atoms, e.g., protons.

Photoelectron circular dichroism of O 1s-photoelectrons of uniaxially oriented trifluoromethyloxirane: energy dependence and sensitivity to molecular configuration.

The photoelectron circular dichroism (PECD) of the O 1s-photoelectrons of trifluoromethyloxirane (TFMOx) is studied experimentally and theoretically for different photoelectron kinetic energies. The experiments were performed employing circularly polarized synchrotron radiation and coincident electron and fragment ion detection using cold target recoil ion momentum spectroscopy. The corresponding calculations were performed by means of the single center method within the relaxed-core Hartree-Fock approximation. We concentrate on the energy dependence of the differential PECD of uniaxially oriented TFMOx molecules, which is accessible through the employed coincident detection. We also compare the results for the differential PECD of TFMOx to those obtained for the equivalent fragmentation channel and similar photoelectron kinetic energy of methyloxirane (MOx), studied in our previous work. Thereby, we investigate the influence of the substitution of the methyl group by the trifluoromethyl group at the chiral center on the molecular chiral response. Finally, the presently obtained angular distribution parameters are compared to those available in the literature.

Double Core-Hole Generation in O_{2} Molecules Using an X-Ray Free-Electron Laser: Molecular-Frame Photoelectron Angular Distributions.

We report on a multiparticle coincidence experiment performed at the European X-ray Free-Electron Laser at the Small Quantum Systems instrument using a COLTRIMS reaction microscope. By measuring two ions and two electrons in coincidence, we investigate double core-hole generation in O_{2} molecules in the gas phase. Single-site and two-site double core holes have been identified and their molecular-frame electron angular distributions have been obtained for a breakup of the oxygen molecule into two doubly charged ions. The measured distributions are compared to results of calculations performed within the frozen- and relaxed-core Hartree-Fock approximations.

Observation of Photoion Backward Emission in Photoionization of He and N_{2}.

We experimentally investigate the effects of the linear photon momentum on the momentum distributions of photoions and photoelectrons generated in one-photon ionization in an energy range of 300 eV≤E_{γ}≤40 keV. Our results show that for each ionization event the photon momentum is imparted onto the photoion, which is essentially the system's center of mass. Nevertheless, the mean value of the ion momentum distribution along the light propagation direction is backward-directed by -3/5 times the photon momentum. These results experimentally confirm a 90-year-old prediction.

Hydride formation thermodynamics and hysteresis in individual Pd nanocrystals with different size and shape.

Physicochemical properties of nanoparticles may depend on their size and shape and are traditionally assessed in ensemble-level experiments, which accordingly may be plagued by averaging effects. These effects can be eliminated in single-nanoparticle experiments. Using plasmonic nanospectroscopy, we present a comprehensive study of hydride formation thermodynamics in individual Pd nanocrystals of different size and shape, and find corresponding enthalpies and entropies to be nearly size- and shape-independent. The hysteresis observed is significantly wider than in bulk, with details depending on the specifics of individual nanoparticles. Generally, the absorption branch of the hysteresis loop is size-dependent in the sub-30 nm regime, whereas desorption is size- and shape-independent. The former is consistent with a coherent phase transition during hydride formation, influenced kinetically by the specifics of nucleation, whereas the latter implies that hydride decomposition either occurs incoherently or via different kinetic pathways.