Photoemisssion orbital tomography extended beyond pi orbitals.
Experimentally-generated map of copper surface using photoemission orbital tomography (top left) and the projected densities of states of σ and π orbitals (top right). The bianthracene investigated in the study (bottom left) and maps of its σ orbitals (bottom middle, right)
A technique developed for imaging π orbitals during surface chemical reactions – photoemission orbital tomography – can also image σ orbitals as well. The researchers, who tested their discovery by answering a hitherto open question about the product of a reaction, believe the method could unravel chemical mechanisms in fields such as catalysis.
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