Low temperature microfluidics for study of iron complex intermediates

Microfluidic mixers present a clear opportunity to use the high flux of modern beamlines without experiencing the side effects of radiation damage, and further allow for data collection on reactive intermediates of metalloenzymes or molecular catalysts under the conditions in which they naturally occur. In order to fully exploit the utility of these mixers, it is necessary to have temperature control such that shorter-lived intermediates can be accessed with X-ray absorption and emission spectroscopies. We propose to commission a cryostat compatible microfluidic mixer for measurement of HERFD XAS and XES spectra. Initial experiments will exploit the known temperature dependence of iron spin crossover complexes to confirm sample temperature in the probing regime.