XSD Seminars

Various scales of spatial and temporal dimensions are involved in catalyst synthesis, reactivity and deactivation. Full understanding the catalytic processes and ultimately controlling the catalytic reactions require probes of broad time and length scales. We have combined multiple X-ray techniques and other spectroscopic techniques to study catalyst synthesis, reactivity and deactivation. Two examples will be presented to demonstrate the power of X-ray and combination of scattering and spectroscopy techniques.

First example is using the time resolved pair distribution function (PDF) methods to probe the kinetics, mechanism, and energetics for Ag nanoparticle synthesis in a porous zeolite. Understanding the formation of nanoparticles and how they are influenced by a support, is critically important for optimizing their activity. The PDF method can provide the nanoscale structure detail and fast time resolution which allows a multi-step mechanism delineated, and rate constants and activation energies to be estimated for reduction and surface diffusion steps. Complimentary diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy (DRIFTS) and in situ X-ray absorption near edge spectroscopy (XANES) were used to illustrate the surface functional group and oxidation state changes in the particle formation and growth process.

Second example is about probing the active sites in Ni2P and NiFeP for catalytic hydrodesulfurization (HDS) reaction of a model compound 4,6-dimethyldibenzothiophene (4,6-DMDBT). HDS of 4, 6-DMDBT is dominated by two pathways, hydrogenation (HYD) and direct desulfurization (DDS). EXAFS analysis reveals that HYD is due to the square pyramidal Ni(2) and DDS is due to the tetrahedral sites Ni(1) for Ni2P. Combination of EXAFS and IR suggests the substitution of Fe atom in the active phase and a ligand effect on Ni sites.
[ Hide ]

Ultrafast, time-resolved, laser-pump, x-ray-probe experiments are powerful tools for understanding and controlling the behavior of matter at the molecular level. Transient structural changes, both geometric and electronic, of single molecules after excitation by a laser pulse can be probed with high resolution and within complex or disordered environments, such as gases and liquids, taking advantage of the superior spatial resolution, elemental specificity and penetration power of x-rays.

Third generation synchrotron sources, particularly the APS, provide x-rays with a unique combination of properties that are well suited for precision time-resolved measurements which include a high flux (1013 photons/second/0.01% bandwidth) that is distributed in short pulses (~100 ps) with moderate intensity (~106 photons/pulse) at a high repetition rate (MHz). Over the last decade laser-pump, x-ray-probe studies have been carried out at synchrotrons but a major challenge has been the low repetition rate (kHz) of standard amplified lasers resulting in underutilization of the synchrotron’s high flux. In response to this we have implemented a high repetition rate (54 kHz – 6.52 MHz), high power (10 W), laser system at 7ID-D at the APS.

In this talk I will highlight our initial experiments using this laser and the x-ray microprobe at 7ID-D. These include x-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) of the metalloporphyrin molecule Ni(II)-tetramesitylporphyrin (NiTMP) in solution at 135 times the rate of previous experiments, combined XAS, x-ray emission spectroscopy (XES), and liquid scattering measurements on the spin-crossover molecule Iron(II)-tris(2,2’)-bipyridine ([Fe(bpy)3]2+) in solution using the full flux available at the APS, and XAS of the photodetachment and recombination of the haloalkane CH2BrI in solution. Our results demonstrate how the use of high repetition rate, short pulse lasers as pump sources can dramatically enhance the duty cycle and efficiency in data acquisition and hence capabilities at synchrotron sources. These techniques will play an important role in the utilization of the SPX, the ~1 ps x-ray pulse source planned in the APS upgrade.
[ Hide ]

Abstract Zirconium alloys are of importance to the nuclear industry, with primary application as a structural material for the in-reactor environment. The formation of brittle hydrides within zirconium alloys results in a degradation of the mechanical properties of the component in which they form. Therefore, the characteristics of hydride formation and the subsequent impact of these hydrides are critical factors in the determination of zirconium component service life. This talk summarizes a series of three experimental efforts characterizing the mechanical behavior of hydrides in zirconium alloys with high energy synchrotron X-ray diffraction. Part I focuses on the mechanical response of zirconium hydride within a bulk Zircaloy-2 matrix. Part II studies the near crack tip behavior of unhydrided Zircaloy-2. Part III characterizes the behavior of notch tip hydrides. The aim of this work is to quantify the influence of hydrides on the local notch tip strain field and characterize the internal strains in the hydrides themselves.

* Work conducted while Matthew Kerr was a graduate student at Queen’s University and does not reflect a position of the US NRC.
[ Hide ]

The High Energy Diffraction Microscopy (HEDM) program attracts a growing community to the Advanced Photon Source 1-ID beamline. High-energy x-ray diffraction (above 50 keV) has been demonstrated to be a powerful tool for the structural characterization of polycrystalline bulk materials measuring the crystallographic orientation and stress states on the grain and sub-grain scales. High energy tomography provides fast three-dimensional maps using absorption or phase contrast, with spatial resolution at the micrometer scale. Both of these techniques have garnered increased interest towards engineering and industrial applications due to their combination of bulk penetration and high sensitivity.In the presentation I will introduce my HEDM evaluation program DIGIgrain that has been adopted for several user measurements at 1-ID and has proven to provide unique quality, compared to other existing programs, for peak segmentation and data reduction. Case studies of far-field diffraction measurements on metallic and non-metallic materials which have utilized DIGIgrain will also be presented.

The combination of these two complementary contrast mechanisms is highly beneficial for the characterization of inhomogeneities such as cracks or voids. Several case studies will be presented to demonstrate their capability to reveal structural details that cannot be detected by a single technique alone. This is especially true for the near field diffraction technique, which can advance directly by combining tomographic reconstruction and crystallographic orientation mapping from the same data set. This approach enables in situ investigations and avoids the registration problem of independent data sets.
[ Hide ]

Although heterogeneous catalysts are widely used among industrial processes, the detailed understanding of catalytic mechanisms still needs deeper investigations. The nature of the active sites, their geometry and local environment are determining parameters for the catalytic performances. A fine characterization is thus required to understand this structure-activity relationship and generally involves spectroscopic techniques, particularly through in situ and operando approaches. To this end, relevant developments regarding the use of time-resolved spectroscopies have been recently achieved. In this context, the formation of active phases and their further evolution under real catalytic conditions will be discussed on the basis of recent studies performed at the French Synchrotron SOLEIL using X-ray absorption spectroscopy and complementary techniques such as Raman spectroscopy. Examples will be detailed to illustrate the characterization of various materials, including supported oxides or metals, which are of wide interest in the area of energy, e.g. for biomass valorization or fuels synthesis.
[ Hide ]

Ruthenium and Osmium polypyridyl complexes and their derivatives have attracted increasing interest and have been used as photosensitizers in solar-cells, molecular electronics and light emitting devices. Photoexcitation of those photosensitizers leads to long lived metal-to-ligand charge transfer (MLCT) states. If bonded to proper semiconductor nanocrystals, the photoexcited Ru and Os complexes inject electrons to semiconductors, resulting in interfacial-charge transfer state. We have applied time-resolved X-ray spectroscopy to study the electronic and molecular structures of photosentizers in both MLCT excited state and charge-separated state. A series of Ruthenium and Osmium polypyridyl complexes have been studies. Experimental results were compared with simulations/theoretical calculations, quantitative information on the molecular structure, electronic configuration and molecular orbital energies of ground and excited states have been revealed. The chances in the Ru-ligand distances have been directly characterized and rationalized by the interplay between two important factors governing the metal to ligand bonding, steric hindrance and π-backbonding. These works have demonstrated the great potential of time-resolved X-ray spectroscopy to study fundamental structural-functional correlations in solar electricity and fuel generation for both homogenous systems and heterogeneous interfacial systems.
[ Hide ]

Diverse optics fabrication activities are currently underway within the Optics Fabrication Group at NSLS-II, including work on crystal optics, multilayer Laue lens (MLL) growth and sectioning, and reflective multilayer optics. Crystal optics production capabilities currently include orientation, slicing, dicing, lapping, etching, and CMP polishing of silicon for high-resolution IXS, channel-cut monochromators, and other applications. The current status of MLL fabrication will be presented, including partial-nitrogen reactive sputtering for stress and interfacial roughness reduction which has recently led to a 70 micron thick single-growth MLL. Significant effort has been focused on the achievement of highly-stable nitrogen gas mixing for multilayer growth and the problems faced along with implemented solutions will be discussed in detail. Recent MLL sectioning results obtained by manual polishing, reactive ion etching, and focused ion-beam milling are promising. Multilayers composed of WSi2/Si, Vxsix/Si, Cr/Sc, V/B4C, and W/B4C benefit when grown with a small percentage of nitrogen. Reflective multilayer optics for a wide variety of applications, from ~200eV high energy-density experiments, to 80KeV synchrotron experiments will be presented. Two ion-beam sources (one RF and one DC) incorporating multiple gas mixing are being installed in the MLL deposition system over the next couple months which will expand our capabilities.
[ Hide ]