Femtosecond Soft-X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy of Liquids with a Water-Window High-Harmonic Source


Date

2020-03-19

Publication Type

Journal Article

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yes

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Abstract

Femtosecond X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) is a powerful method to investigate the dynamical behavior of a system after photoabsorption in real time. So far, the application of this technique has remained limited to large-scale facilities, such as femtosliced synchrotrons and free-electron lasers (FEL). In this work, we demonstrate femtosecond time-resolved soft-X-ray absorption spectroscopy of liquid samples by combining a sub-micrometer-thin flat liquid jet with a high-harmonic tabletop source covering the entire water-window range (284–538 eV). Our work represents the first extension of tabletop XAS to the oxygen edge of a chemical sample in the liquid phase. In the time domain, our measurements resolve the gradual appearance of absorption features below the carbon K-edge of ethanol and methanol during strong-field ionization and trace the valence-shell ionization dynamics of the liquid alcohols with a temporal resolution of ∼30 fs. This technique opens unique opportunities to study molecular dynamics of chemical systems in the liquid phase with elemental, orbital, and site sensitivity.

Publication status

published

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Volume

11 (6)

Pages / Article No.

1981 - 1988

Publisher

American Chemical Society

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Edition / version

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Organisational unit

03888 - Wörner, Hans Jakob / Wörner, Hans Jakob check_circle

Notes

Funding

172946 - Soft-X-ray spectroscopy on the attosecond time scale (SNF)
772797 - Attosecond X-ray spectroscopy of liquids (EC)

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