_version_ 1866908700112846848
author Kunzelmann, Viktoria F.
Streibel, Verena
Schwinghammer, Philip
Kollenz, Philipp
Guzelturk, Burak
Hegner, Franziska S.
Eyre, Lissa
Delgado, Frederico P.
Zewdie, Tsedenia A.
Heindl, Markus W.
Galindo, Danyellen D. Monteiro
Sandner, Daniel
Zhou, Guanda
Sirotti, Elise
Bodnar, Stanislav
Jiang, Yifeng
Uemura, Yohei
Eklund, Tobias
Lima, Frederico
Huang, Xinchao
Vinci, Doriana
Lamas, Fernando Ardana
Zalden, Peter
Iglev, Hristo
Egger, David A.
Deschler, Felix
Sharp, Ian D.
author_facet Kunzelmann, Viktoria F.
Streibel, Verena
Schwinghammer, Philip
Kollenz, Philipp
Guzelturk, Burak
Hegner, Franziska S.
Eyre, Lissa
Delgado, Frederico P.
Zewdie, Tsedenia A.
Heindl, Markus W.
Galindo, Danyellen D. Monteiro
Sandner, Daniel
Zhou, Guanda
Sirotti, Elise
Bodnar, Stanislav
Jiang, Yifeng
Uemura, Yohei
Eklund, Tobias
Lima, Frederico
Huang, Xinchao
Vinci, Doriana
Lamas, Fernando Ardana
Zalden, Peter
Iglev, Hristo
Egger, David A.
Deschler, Felix
Sharp, Ian D.
contents Bismuth vanadate (BiVO$_4$) is a key photocatalyst for solar fuel applications, yet fundamental questions remain regarding the nature of photogenerated polaronic states and the lattice dynamics that govern its light-to-chemical pathways. Here, we use femtosecond optical pump-X-ray probe measurements to track the photoinduced electronic and structural dynamics in BiVO$_4$ across multiple length and time scales. Transient X-ray absorption spectroscopy captures sub-picosecond electron localization within VO$_4$ tetrahedra, consistent with small polaron formation, whereas time-resolved X-ray diffraction reveals a slower, multi-picosecond lattice reorganization into a hidden photoexcited state that is structurally distinct from both the monoclinic ground state and the high-temperature tetragonal phase. Supported by density functional theory, we show that hole-lattice interactions dynamically reduce the ground state monoclinic distortion, stabilizing the hidden state. Our results demonstrate that electron- and hole-lattice coupling jointly shape the excited state landscape, with implications for carrier transport, interfacial energetics, and light-to-chemical energy conversion pathways.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2512_08287
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Ultrafast light-induced formation of a metastable hidden state in bismuth vanadate
Kunzelmann, Viktoria F.
Streibel, Verena
Schwinghammer, Philip
Kollenz, Philipp
Guzelturk, Burak
Hegner, Franziska S.
Eyre, Lissa
Delgado, Frederico P.
Zewdie, Tsedenia A.
Heindl, Markus W.
Galindo, Danyellen D. Monteiro
Sandner, Daniel
Zhou, Guanda
Sirotti, Elise
Bodnar, Stanislav
Jiang, Yifeng
Uemura, Yohei
Eklund, Tobias
Lima, Frederico
Huang, Xinchao
Vinci, Doriana
Lamas, Fernando Ardana
Zalden, Peter
Iglev, Hristo
Egger, David A.
Deschler, Felix
Sharp, Ian D.
Materials Science
Bismuth vanadate (BiVO$_4$) is a key photocatalyst for solar fuel applications, yet fundamental questions remain regarding the nature of photogenerated polaronic states and the lattice dynamics that govern its light-to-chemical pathways. Here, we use femtosecond optical pump-X-ray probe measurements to track the photoinduced electronic and structural dynamics in BiVO$_4$ across multiple length and time scales. Transient X-ray absorption spectroscopy captures sub-picosecond electron localization within VO$_4$ tetrahedra, consistent with small polaron formation, whereas time-resolved X-ray diffraction reveals a slower, multi-picosecond lattice reorganization into a hidden photoexcited state that is structurally distinct from both the monoclinic ground state and the high-temperature tetragonal phase. Supported by density functional theory, we show that hole-lattice interactions dynamically reduce the ground state monoclinic distortion, stabilizing the hidden state. Our results demonstrate that electron- and hole-lattice coupling jointly shape the excited state landscape, with implications for carrier transport, interfacial energetics, and light-to-chemical energy conversion pathways.
title Ultrafast light-induced formation of a metastable hidden state in bismuth vanadate
topic Materials Science
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2512.08287