Themed collection Synchrotron Radiation Techniques in Catalytic Science

This themed issue includes a collection of articles on Synchrotron Radiation Techniques in Catalytic Science.

Perspectives on the use of soft X-ray absorption spectroscopy as a tool to rationally develop new heterogeneous catalysts.

We highlight the recent study in using chiral and achiral porous materials for the potential applications in asymmetric catalysis.

Electrocatalytic water splitting using iridate pyrochlores studied using synchrotron spectroscopy reveals a response from all iridium in the conducting oxide.

Site-dependent selectivity in oxidation reactions on Pt nanoparticles was identified by conducting IR nanospectroscopy measurements while using allyl-functionalized N-heterocyclic carbenes (allyl-NHCs) as probe molecules.

In situ TREXS captures surface reactions.

Operando X-ray absorption spectroscopy of potassium catalysts during soot oxidation.

This study reports the importance of advanced synchrotron techniques for understanding the effect of milling atmosphere, either air or argon, on mechanochemically prepared LaMnO₃ and the catalytic performance towards N₂O decomposition (deN₂O).

In situ XRD-CT and post-reaction SEM/EDX were used to study the solid-state chemistry and structural changes of Ba_0.5Sr_0.5Co_0.8Fe_0.2O_3−δ membrane reactors during the oxidative coupling of methane reaction.

In situ XAS applied to a silica supported CoRe catalyst for ammonia decomposition shows the importance of the reduced bimetallic phase.

An innovative approach in EXAFS analysis and fitting using wavelet transforms reveals local structure and nuclearity of Cu-species in zeolites.

Schematic of the proposed structure for a high Al doped haematite sample with MoO_x overlayers.

We developed a multi-analysis system that can measure in situ time-resolved quick XAFS and in situ three-dimensional XAFS-CT in the same area of a cathode electrocatalyst layer in a membrane-electrode assembly of a polymer electrolyte fuel cell.

High energy XRD was used to demonstrate that Cu(0)/brownmillerite is the active phase of a CuO/LSCO material under reaction conditions of TWC.

Trained neural networks are used to extract the first partial coordination numbers from XANES spectra. In bimetallic nanoparticles, the four local structure descriptors provide rich information on structural motifs.

In situ studies on the physical and chemical properties of the interaction with hydrogen with a ceria coated alumina supported Au catalyst using fluorescence detection X-ray absorption near edge spectroscopy and X-ray total scattering.

Photochemical and electrochemical cells were developed and successfully tested for operando X-ray absorption spectroscopy measurements under realistic reaction conditions.

We have developed a novel analytical method combining model building and statistical evaluation to determine the structure of multimetallic nanoparticles from EXAFS of a single adsorption edge.

In situ surface sensitive XPS and NEXAFS clarify the promotion effect of Fe in Ni–Fe/hydrotalcite-derived catalysts for the CO₂ methanation reaction.

In situ XAS measurements show that iridium oxide electrocatalysts manufactured by the polymeric precursor synthesis method contain a significant fraction of elemental iridium metal and that potential cycling only oxidises a thin layer of the elemental component of the composite.

A model Cu catalyst surface oxidises to Cu₂O when methanol, oxygen and water vapour are all present during methanol conversion.

Novel in situ synchrotron total scattering measurements probe the assembly of primary building units into templated hierarchically porous aluminophosphate catalysts, providing unique insights to understanding crystallisation kinetics.

MCR-ALS analysis of Quick-EXAFS combined to Raman provide insight into activation/reactivity and deactivation of NiCu-catalysts used for Ethanol Steam Reforming.

The induction period for alkene formation from methanol in single crystals of HZSM-5 decreases with decreasing crystal size and increasing temperature and hydrocarbon pool species are formed almost instantaneously at higher temperatures.

The self-assembly of gold nanoparticles (Au NPs) using polymer-encapsulated inverse micelles was studied using a set of advanced X-ray techniques (i.e. XAFS, SAXS) in addition to DLS, UV-vis spectroscopy and TEM.