Institute Solar Fuels

Surface & interface analysis

Surface and Interface Analysis

Surfaces and interfaces are critical components in photoelectrochemical devices. Understanding their influence on device performance requires experimental techniques that have been developed specifically for their investigation. In the Institute for Solar Fuels we have a suite of instrumentation that provide surface and interface characterization in-system; they are characterized before and after the application of realistic working conditions without exposure to the atmosphere. We investigate surface chemical composition and structure using a multi-technique system capable of performing X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), ion scattering spectroscopy (ISS), Ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy (UPS) and low energy electron diffraction (LEED). Vacuum transfer of the sample to and from an attached photoelectrochemical cell allows these techniques to be applied before and after reaction. In addition, the Institute for Solar Fuels is equipped with a variable temperature scanning electron microscope (VT-STM) which allows the study of the surface structure of our materials under controlled conditions (i.e. ultra-high vacuum or exposure to gases up to room pressure).

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