Resonant photoelectron and photoelectron diffraction across the Fe L3 edge of Fe3O4

We combined measurements of valence-band photoemission and valence-band photoelectron diffraction on Fe3O4 at the Fe 2p-3d resonance. The different structures in the valence band of magnetite due to the different sites of iron were identified experimentally. Specifically the structure near the Fermi level is unambiguously attributed only to octahedral Fe2+ sites (B-Fe2+). We showed that tuning the photon energy to the resonance of B-Fe2+, the whole valence band is dominated by signal coming from B sites of iron. Moreover this work shows how resonant photoelectron diffraction is a powerful tool for the study of mixed valence oxides.