Time-resolved single crystal X-ray diffraction of chemical samples allow for the elucidation of structural changes upon response to external stimuli such as light irradiation, temperature changes, or the presence of a guest molecule. The photochemistry of solid-state materials such as coordination complexes and metal-organic frameworks is of interest to develop new heterogeneous catalysts for chemical manufacturing and in the production of advanced materials for energy storage and capture, ie. in photovoltaics.1
The time-scale of dynamic crystallographic experiments has so far been limited by the frame rate of the detector (5 millisecond frames on MX1), the type of light sources (LEDs and lamps) and capturing the photoexcited lifetime of the sample in the collection time of the experiment (seconds-mins).2 By combining electronic gating of the detector to sub-millisecond frames, nanosecond pulsed lasers, and well-diffraction, radiation-hard coordination complexes with lifetimes in millisecond time-scales, new dynamic processes can be studied in the millisecond to nanosecond time regime. These experiments require rapid data collections, which are only possible with synchrotron radiation, allowing for chemical, photophysical, and redox processes to be followed in real time through crystallographic ‘snapshots’.
This work will present advances made in the hardware, controls processes, software, and methodology to enable these experiments to be conducted on the MX1 and MX3 beamlines at the Australian Synchrotron.