New X-ray Pair Distribution Function (PDF) BAG access for the Catalysis Hub webinar

The UK Catalysis Hub has been awarded Block Allocation Group (BAG) access to the I15 X-ray PDF beamline at the Diamond Light Source. Pair Distribution Function (PDF) or total scattering analysis provides information on the local atomic arrangement of crystalline, nanophase, disordered, amorphous and liquid materials over an extended distance range as is extremely complementary to element specific probes such as X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS). The XPDF BAG will used the same framework and support that has been established for the successful XAS BAG at B18 and has similar goals; to develop a group of experienced users from within the UK Catalysis community who will apply PDF analysis to new areas of catalysis science. As with XAS, there will be opportunities for ex situ, in situ and operando experiments.

Total scattering (PDF analysis) is becoming an important tool in the study of a wide range or materials including battery materials and nanophase materials and the improved instrument resolution and availability of high energy beamlines such as I15-1 mean that this technique is particularly well suited to the nanophase and disordered material encountered in many catalytic processes and since data acquisition is rapid the technique is especially well-suited to in situ and operando studies. PDF analysis provides the opportunity to determine pairpair distributions over large distances ranges from the immediate local, nearest-neighbours, as well as the more extended range of the bulk structure. There are many examples in the literature of the study of catalytic systems, including both in situ and ex situ studies and these include recent studies of metal organic frameworks and photocatalysts.

To introduce the technique to the Catalysis Hub, Dr Phil Chater from I15-1 presented a webinar on the 7th February

This seminar introduces the PDF technique and describes how it has been applied to local structure studies on catalysts. The webinar also explains how the plan PDF experiments and discusses the training and outreach components of the BAG and the development of streamlined processing and analysis for selected, commonly encountered systems.