BESSY II: Surface analysis of catalyst particles in aqueous solutions
Der Mikrostrahl ist ein schnell fließender Flüssigkeitsstrom, der so dünn ist, dass er nur eine extrem schwache Dampfwolke erzeugt. Photonen und Partikel können die Oberfläche des Strahls erreichen und verlassen, ohne mit den Dampfmolekülen zusammenzustoßen.
In einem feinen Strahl schießt die Flüssigkeit mit suspendierten Metall-Oxid-Nanopartikeln durch das Röntgenlicht. So lassen sich chemische Reaktionen an den Grenzflächen zwischen festen Metall-Oxid-Partikeln und flüssigem Elektrolyt untersuchen.
In a special issue on the liquid jet method, a team reports on reactions of water molecules on the surfaces of metal oxide particles. The results are relevant for the development of efficient photoelectrodes for the production of green hydrogen.
Green hydrogen can be produced directly in a photoelectrochemical cell, splitting water with solar energy. However, this requires the development of super-efficient photoelectrodes that need to combine many talents at the same time. They must be excellent at converting sunlight into electricity, remain stable in acidic or basic water, act as catalysts to promote the splitting of water into hydrogen and oxygen, and be cheap, abundant and non-toxic.
The large material class of metal oxides comes into question. It is difficult to find out what really happens at the interfaces between the solid metal oxide electrodes and the aqueous electrolyte. This is because standard X-ray analysis does not work to investigate processes on samples in liquid environments. One of the few suitable methods are experiments with a liquid jet: an extremely fine jet of liquid in which nanoparticles of metal oxide are suspended. The jet shoots through the X-ray light of BESSY II, and the interference of the evaporated molecules with the measurement data is negligible (more in the foreword to the special issue).
Dr. Robert Seidel is an expert on this liquid jet method, which is the subject of a special issue of Accounts of Chemical Research. He was invited to be the guest-editor of the issue and to report also on new experiments at BESSY II that he conducted with Dr. Hebatallah Ali and Dr. Bernd Winter from the Fritz Haber Institute. They investigated two important model systems for photoelectrodes: Nanoparticles of iron oxide (hematite, α-Fe2O3, and anatase (titanium oxide or TiO2) in aqueous electrolytes with different pH values. Hematite and anatase in suspension are photocatalytic model systems. These are ideal for studying the solid/electrolyte interface at the molecular level and for exploring the chemical reactions at electrode-electrolyte interfaces.
Insights into interactions at surfaces with water molecules
“We used resonant photoelectron spectroscopy (PES) to identify the characteristic fingerprints of different reactions. This allowed us to reconstruct which reaction products are formed under different conditions, particularly as a function of pH.” The key question: How do the water molecules react with or on the nanoparticle surfaces?
In fact, how acidic or how basic an electrolyte is makes a big difference, Seidel noted. “At low pH, the water molecules on the surface of hematite tend to split. This is not the case with anatase, where water molecules are adsorbed on the surface of the TiO2 nanoparticles,” says Seidel. A basic pH value is required for water molecules to break down on the anatase nanoparticles. “Such insights into surface interactions with water molecules are only possible with this liquid-jet method,” says Seidel.
The spectra also revealed ultra-fast electron transitions between the metal oxide and the (split) water molecules on the surface. The results provide insights into the first steps of water dissociation and help to clarify the mechanisms of light-induced water splitting on metal oxide surfaces.
The special issue ‘Applications of Liquid Microjets in Chemistry
The editorial starts with a intriguing comparison: “Pour a glass of water, and bring it right up to your nose, one centimeter away. What don’t you see? About 3 million molecules intervene along a line between the tip of your nose and the surface of the water. Imagine an X-ray photon or charged or neutral particle trying to reach or escape the surface but first colliding with some of these interloping molecules in ways that scramble information about their interactions with interfacial and deeper water molecules.”
What is so vividly described in the foreword to this special issue has long been a major problem. It was not until 1988 that the liquid jet method, introduced by Manfred Faubel, Stephan Schlemmer and Jan Peter Toennies, made it possible to study water surfaces without these disturbances. The microjet is a fast-flowing stream of liquid so narrow that it produces only an extremely dilute vapour cloud. Photons and particles can reach and leave the surface of the jet without colliding with the vapour molecules. A special issue of the journal Accounts of Chemical Research now presents exciting new results using this method. HZB researcher Dr Robert Seidel was invited to be the guest editor.
- Battery research with the HZB X-ray microscopeNew cathode materials are being developed to further increase the capacity of lithium batteries. Multilayer lithium-rich transition metal oxides (LRTMOs) offer particularly high energy density. However, their capacity decreases with each charging cycle due to structural and chemical changes. Using X-ray methods at BESSY II, teams from several Chinese research institutions have now investigated these changes for the first time with highest precision: at the unique X-ray microscope, they were able to observe morphological and structural developments on the nanometre scale and also clarify chemical changes.
- BESSY II: New procedure for better thermoplasticsBio-based thermoplastics are produced from renewable organic materials and can be recycled after use. Their resilience can be improved by blending bio-based thermoplastics with other thermoplastics. However, the interface between the materials in these blends sometimes requires enhancement to achieve optimal properties. A team from the Eindhoven University of Technology in the Netherlands has now investigated at BESSY II how a new process enables thermoplastic blends with a high interfacial strength to be made from two base materials: Images taken at the new nano station of the IRIS beamline showed that nanocrystalline layers form during the process, which increase material performance.
- Hydrogen: Breakthrough in alkaline membrane electrolysersA team from the Technical University of Berlin, HZB, IMTEK (University of Freiburg) and Siemens Energy has developed a highly efficient alkaline membrane electrolyser that approaches the performance of established PEM electrolysers. What makes this achievement remarkable is the use of inexpensive nickel compounds for the anode catalyst, replacing costly and rare iridium. At BESSY II, the team was able to elucidate the catalytic processes in detail using operando measurements, and a theory team (USA, Singapore) provided a consistent molecular description. In Freiburg, prototype cells were built using a new coating process and tested in operation. The results have been published in the prestigious journal Nature Catalysis.