Resonant inelastic soft X-ray scattering spectra at the nitrogen and carbon K-edges of poly(pyridine-2,5-diyl)

Resonant inelastic scattering measurements of the conjugated polymer, poly(pyridine-2,5-diyl) have been performed at the nitrogen and carbon K-edges using synchrotron radiation. For comparison, molecular orbital calculations of the spectra have been carried out with the repeat unit as a model molecule of the polymer chain. The resonant emission spectra show depletion of the π electron bands which is consistent with symmetry selection and momentum conservation rules. The depletion is most obvious in the resonant inelastic scattering spectra of carbon while the nitrogen spectra are dominated by lone pair n orbital emission of σ symmetry and are less excitation energy dependent. By comparing the measurements to calculations an isomeric dependence of the resonant spectra is found giving preference to two of the four possible isomers in the polymer