Structural and Electronic Effects of X-ray Irradiation on Prototypical [M(COD)Cl]2 Catalysts

A systematic study of X-ray radiation induced effects on a class of industrially important catalysts of the type [M(COD)Cl]₂ has been published in the Journal of Physical Chemistry A. This work combines X-ray diffraction, X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy with Density Functional Theory to shed light on the often overlooked global and local damage phenomena in small molecular crystals. This was carried out in collaboration with teams at UCL, Imperial College London, Diamond Light Source and the University of Oxford. The article was also recently featured by Diamond Light Source as a 2021 Science Highlight.

Link to the full article: https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.jpca.1c05759

Available also on ChemRxiv: https://chemrxiv.org/engage/chemrxiv/article-details/60dad7f766f2c443ed1435e3

Link to the Diamond Light Source Science Highlight article: https://www.diamond.ac.uk/Science/Research/Highlights/2021/investigating-damage-small-molecular-crystals.html

Ryan Bower

I really enjoyed my time as a member of the CDT-ACM. It provided the opportunity to gain experience with a wide range of materials characterisation techniques and to engage with the wider research community by participating in conferences and Outreach events.