Time-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy:: A unique tool to monitor the vibrational and fragmentation dynamics of metal carbonyls

We present simulations of time- and energy-resolved ionization experiments on iron carbonyls. In calculating photoelectron spectra we show that it is possible to track the temporal variation of a metalcarbon bond. As another example, the multiple CO abstraction from iron pentacarbonyl induced by multi-photon absorption is regarded. Here the time-dependence of photoelectron spectra as obtained from a pump–probe arrangement gives a unique picture of the fragmentation within the neutral manifold of Fe(CO)n molecules.