Studying Electrocatalysts during Reaction with Operando Microscopy: From Electrons to X-Rays
by
Maxwell Auditorium
ALBA Synchrotron
Abstract
The restructuring of catalysts during reactions can give rise to structural motifs that are stable only under operating conditions. Consequently, gaining insight into the morphology and chemical state of electrocatalysts within the electrolyte and under applied potential is critical for a comprehensive understanding of how a catalyst's structure governs its catalytic properties. While significant progress has been made in the development of operando methods for probing catalyst structure and chemistry under electrochemical conditions, each technique possesses its unique strengths and weaknesses. Therefore, multiple methods often need to be deployed to try to arrive at a complete picture. Many of the currently employed techniques are, however, also based on broad beam methods, which have limited sensitivity to local but potentially crucial heterogeneities within catalyst ensembles. Thus, there is a growing need for techniques that can provide spatially resolved information about the electrocatalyst during reaction.
In this presentation, I will first provide a brief overview of my group's work employing electrochemical liquid cell electron microscopy (EC-EM) to observe catalyst morphology under carbon dioxide electro-reduction reaction conditions. Subsequently, I will discuss our recent results using time-resolved spectro-microscopy to visualize chemical changes occurring in catalysts during reaction where two different approaches are used: in situ energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy mapping and correlated transmission X-ray microscopy experiments.
InCAEM Project
