The activation of small molecules like carbon dioxide is a challenging chemical process pertinent to global energy problems. Several cobalt coordination complexes have proposed as CO<sub>2</sub> activation catalysts, but their performance has been found to be lacking, and the design of better chemical catalysts for carbon dioxide activation has been hindered by a lack of suitable techniques to directly probe the nature of Co-bound CO<sub>2</sub> to provide mechanistic insights. To this end, we are exploring the application of Valence−to−Core Kβ X–ray Emission Spectroscopy (V2C Kβ XES) as a promising technique to identify and characterize the interaction of carbon dioxide with these cobalt catalysts. Unlike iron and other lighter elements, the V2C spectral features of cobalt complexes remains little explored. In the current work, we develop a thorough understanding of cobalt V2C Kβ XES features through combined experimental and computational XES studies of a structurally diverse set of Co(III) complexes. The results of this work will provide a firm basis for the use of V2C Kβ XES as a new spectroscopic tool for the study of a wide range of structurally uncharacterized cobalt coordination complexes and for in-situ studies to monitor dynamic process in the future.

Probing valence orbitals using Co Kβ X-ray emission

251st National Meeting (2016)

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