1. Monitoring of chemical processes at the atomic level by X-ray absorption spectrometry using extremely bright synchrotron radiation sourcesIztok Arčon, unpublished invited conference lecture Abstract: X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) is a powerful tool for characterisation of local structure and chemical state of selected elements in different new functional materials and biological or environmental samples. The XAS spectroscopy is based on extremely bright synchrotron radiation X-rays sources, which allow precise characterisation of bulk, nanostructured or highly diluted samples. The rapid development of extremely bright synchrotron sources of X-ray and ultraviolet light in recent years has opened new possibilities for research of matter at the atomic or molecular level, indispensable in the development of new functional nanostructured materials with desired properties. The lecture will present the possibilities offered by X-ray absorption spectroscopy with synchrotron light for ex-situ and in-situ or operando characterization of various functional porous and other nanomaterials before, after and during their operation. With the operando micro-XANES and EXAFS methods it is possible to track changes in the valence states and local structures of selected elements in different energy storage materials or in various (photo)catalysts, during chemical reactions under controlled reaction conditions, thus gaining insight into the dynamic functional properties and reaction mechanisms of these materials. New synchrotron light sources also opened the possibility of combining X-ray absorption or emission spectroscopy and microscopy with a resolution of up to a few tens of nanometres, crucial for analysis of environmental and biological samples on sub-cellular level, to understand the mechanisms of uptake, transport, accumulation, and complexation of metal cations on subcellular level in various plant tissues or accumulation in environment, to develop effective remediation approaches. Keywords: X-ray absorption spectroscopy, EXAFS, XANES, synchrotron radiation sources, operando Published in RUNG: 15.12.2021; Views: 2471; Downloads: 0 This document has many files! More... |
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3. Beyond the limits of 1D coherent synchrotron radiationA. D. Brynes, P. Smorenburg, I. Akkermans, Enrico Allaria, Laura Badano, S. Brussaard, M. B. Danailov, Alexander Demidovich, Giovanni De Ninno, David Gauthier, Primož Rebernik Ribič, 2018, original scientific article Keywords: coherent synchrotron radiation, free electron lasers, accelerators Published in RUNG: 14.01.2020; Views: 3870; Downloads: 80 Link to full text |
4. Au and Ag on the Bi2Se3(0001) Surface: Experimental Electronic and Physical PropertiesSandra Gardonio, Mattia Fanetti, Katja Ferfolja, Matjaž Valant, published scientific conference contribution abstract Abstract: Binary bismuth chalcogenides, Bi2Se3 and Bi2Te3, have been extensively studied as reference topological
insulators (TIs). These materials are bulk insulators with topological surface states (TSS) crossing the
Fermi level. In contrast to conventional surface states of metals, the TSS are extremely robust
against local modifications at the surface, such as adsorbed adatoms, localized defects or changes in the surface termination. This aspect makes the TIs attractive for applications in spintronics, plasmonics, quantum computing and catalysis.
A theoretical model of charge transport by the TI surface states predicts that the TSS survive, provided that bonding at the metal/TI interface is weak. Ab-initio calculations have been done to understand the electronic properties of Au, Ni, Pt, Pd and graphene layers in a contact with Bi2Se3. These calculations showed that for Au and graphene the spin-momentum locking of TSS is maintained at the interface. In another theoretical study, Ag and Au thin layers on Bi2Se3 have been predicted to show a large Rashba splitting and a high spin polarization of the Ag quantum wells, providing a great potential for development of the spintronic devices. Finally, the calculations have foreseen that the presence of the robust TSS affects the adsorption properties of metals (Au bi-layer and clusters of Au, Ag, Cu, Pt, and Pd) supported on TI, in some cases resulting in the enhancement of the catalytic processes.
Despite the fundamental importance of the metal/TI interfaces and a number of theoretical studies
predicting exotic interfacial phenomena, the experimental knowledge about the metals on the TI surfaces is surprisingly limited, especially concerning combined study of morphology, growth mode, electronic and chemical properties.
In order to exploit the predicted physical properties of such systems, it is especially important to extend the study above the diluted coverage regime and to understand what is the growth morphology of the metal on the TI surface, to what extent the metal overlayer interacts with the TI substrate, how the TSS change with the presence of the metal overlayer and what is the reactivity of the system at the different stages of the overlayer growth.
Within this frame, we present a comprehensive surface sensitive study, of Au and Ag on Bi2Se3 by means of ARPES, XPS, SEM, LEED and XRD. The obtained results allow us to discuss the relation between electronic and physical properties at two of the most important model metal/TI interfaces Keywords: topological insulator, electronic properties, synchrotron radiation Published in RUNG: 27.06.2019; Views: 4037; Downloads: 0 This document has many files! More... |
5. Atomic-level mechanisms of magnesium oxidationSandra Gardonio, Mattia Fanetti, Matjaž Valant, Dmytro Orlov, 2016, published scientific conference contribution Abstract: Magnesium has been recently becoming an increasingly popular material for various applications. However, excessive chemical reactivity, and oxidation rate in particular, is a major obstruction on the way of Mg to become widely adopted. A significant problem causing the lack of Mg reactivity control is insufficient understanding of mechanisms involved in the oxidation of magnesium surface. Herewith we present the investigation of atomic-level mechanisms of oxidation initiation and propagation in pure Mg. Namely, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy at synchrotron Elettra was used as a surface sensitive direct method to determine the valence of Mg and O and the valence band states at the early stage of oxide formation over a principal, most densely packed, crystallographic plane (0001) in pure Mg. The mechanisms of oxygen adsorption on magnesium free surface followed by oxidation (i.e. initiation and kinetics of MgO formation) are clarified. Copyright © 2016 by The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society. All rights reserved. Keywords: Magnesium, Oxidation, Synchrotron radiation, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy Published in RUNG: 25.08.2017; Views: 5690; Downloads: 0 This document has many files! More... |
6. Chemical and structural investigation of the cobalt phthalocyanineMatija Stupar, 2015, master's thesis Abstract: In the last two decades, studies on organic molecules mimicking substances of fundamental importance in nature, like chlorophyll or hemoglobin, have attracted researchers’ attention. These molecules are building blocks for a family of materials also referred to as “organic semiconductors”. Such compounds can be implemented in numerous applications, ranging from data-storage to light harvesting. Some of their fundamental advantages include low cost, light weight, relatively easy engineering and mechanical flexibility, compatible with bending plastic substrates.
In this thesis work we investigated the chemical, structural and electronic properties of cobalt phthalocyanines (CoPc). These molecules have promising applications in the field of magnetic data storage and spintronics in general, due to the ferromagnetic properties of the cobalt atom. Several techniques like photoemission core-level spectroscopy and valence band spectroscopy, together with X-ray absorption, have been used in order to determine the CoPc properties in gaseous phase, i.e. in the absence of interaction with the surrounding environment.
Another set of experiments was devoted to the commissioning of the CITIUS time-resolved photoemission setup, that will be used in future studies of CoPc molecules on surfaces. Keywords: Cobalt phthalocyanine (CoPc), photoemission spectroscopy (PES), X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS), synchrotron radiation, laser, high order harmonic generation (HHG), time resolved spectroscopy Published in RUNG: 29.09.2015; Views: 9682; Downloads: 285 Full text (2,96 MB) |