Femtosecond X-ray Scattering and Spectroscopy Unravels Key Excited States of Light-harvesting Systems

Program Description

Hard X-ray pulses generated at XFELs has opened up a new paradigm in the investigation of structure and electronic configuration of transition metal complexes on the femtosecond time scale. The X-ray energies generated by XFELs can be tuned to do charge and spin sensitive spectroscopy of optically silent states, while the scattered X-rays can be used to study structure and solvent interactions.  This talk will feature examples of how these techniques are used in parallel along with optical spectroscopy to understand the key excited states and electron transfer processes involved in transition metal light-harvesting complexes.