Competition between decay and dissociation of core-excited OCS studied by X-ray scattering

TL;DR

This study provides the first evidence of dissociation during resonant inelastic soft X-ray scattering of OCS, revealing atomic lines in sulfur emission spectra and comparing experimental results with ab initio calculations.

Contribution

It demonstrates the occurrence of dissociation during X-ray scattering and compares experimental spectra with theoretical calculations to elucidate dissociation pathways.

Findings

Atomic lines observed in sulfur emission spectra indicate dissociation.

Carbon and oxygen spectra show minimal shape variation, no atomic lines.

Comparison with ab initio calculations supports dissociation mechanisms.

Abstract

We show the first evidence of dissociation during resonant inelastic soft X-ray scattering. Carbon and oxygen K-shell and sulfur L-shell resonant and non-resonant X-ray emission spectra were measured using monochromatic synchrotron radiation for excitation and ionization. After sulfur, L2,3 -> {\pi}*, {\sigma}* excitation, atomic lines are observed in the emission spectra as a consequence of competition between de-excitation and dissociation. In contrast the carbon and oxygen spectra show weaker line shape variations and no atomic lines. The spectra are compared to results from ab initio calculations and the discussion of the dissociation paths is based on calculated potential energy surfaces and atomic transition energies.