MRI: Acquisition of a Benchtop X-ray Absorption and Emission Spectrometer for Sustainable Energy Research

This award facilitates the acquisition of a benchtop X-ray absorption fine structure (XAFS) and X-ray emission spectrometer (XES) for the development of novel functional nanomaterials for breakthrough energy applications including net-zero carbon reduction, solar energy conversion, sensors, and advanced nuclear energy systems. The XAFS/XES instrument will provide a broad fundamental understanding of nanomaterials research and extend the dissemination of the research by providing atomistic-level understanding, thus supporting results of existing user facilities at University of California, Irvine (UCI).

The instrument will be used in undergraduate and graduate level courses and workshops to perform experiments with the students actively participating in data collection, which will allow them to integrate theory and advanced data analysis. Through the summer programs at UCI local high school and undergraduate students will participate in facility tours and workshops to learn about various applications of the instrument in energy research and how spectroscopic techniques are pioneering the developments in nanomaterials research.

The outreach efforts will attract students from diverse backgrounds into UCI by providing them with an opportunity to do research and encouraging them to pursue a STEM degree.

The XAFS/XES instrument will allow users to perform cutting-edge research on the design of functional nanomaterials. The system will be used to answer fundamental questions across a broad range of disciplines and applications, including CO2 activation, production of fuels and chemicals from renewable energy sources, hydrocarbon cracking, chemical looping combustion, photoelectrochemical production of oxygen from water, novel cathode materials, electrolysis cells, novel battery materials, electrochemical synthesis of chemicals, platinum group metal-free catalysts for oxygen reduction reaction, lanthanide-transition metal complex oxides for electrochemical cells, next-generation chemiresistive sensing platforms, advanced quantum computers, modern nuclear fuel candidates and deep geological disposal of nuclear waste.

The in-situ and in-operando capabilities of the system will provide fundamental information about the local dynamic environment of a material along with the information about phase, surface chemistry, structural change, and adsorbate chemistry. This new instrument will make XAFS a workhorse technique for the development of advanced nanomaterials in sustainable energy production, which is expected to lead to significant scientific advances in the field.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.