Powder Diffraction and Surface Spectroscopy
The research activities of the group focus on crystallographic investigations of inorganic functional materials. These are used either as catalysts in chemical reactions or for energy storage and conversion. Structure-property relationships are studied on different length scales: from the averaged crystal structure to the local structure of amorphous or disordered compounds. The group has a long experience in the field of in situ diffraction. For in situ or operando investigations of structure-property relationships a variety of different sample environments are available, which are listed under "Instrumental Equipment".
The following topics are addressed with the help of diffraction methods:
• Phase identification, Rietveld refinements, quantitative phase analysis
• Structural phase transformations
• Crystal structure solution from powder diffraction data
• Microstructure analysis
• Catalytic reactions
• Crystallization processes
• Local structure analysis of amorphous or partially crystalline compounds
In addition to diffraction methods, the group also operates an X-ray photoelectron spectrometer (XPS) for the chemical characterization of solid surfaces. The instrument is additionally equipped with a UPS unit and thus allows the investigation of the electronic structure of the outer/valence or binding electrons. An in situ catalysis cell allows the analysis of reactive surfaces directly after a reaction without bringing the samples into contact with the ambient atmosphere.
The following questions are addressed with the help of XPS:
• Identification of near-surface elements on the surface, element quantification
• Determination of oxidation states
• Identification of chemical environments
• Determination of the work function of semiconductors or conductors
Vibrational spectroscopy is carried out using Raman spectroscopy. The spectrometer is equipped with a microscope, two different lasers and different reaction cells.
Besides own research activities, a part of the working group is responsible for operating service measurements. All diffractometers and spectrometers as well as the sample environments are offered for service measurements. In addition to sample preparation and execution of the experiments, the complete evaluation of the experimental data and their interpretation is made available to the customers.
Research Topics:
Instrumental Equipment:
News:
Research Reports:
- Research Report Weidenthaler 2011-2013 538.24 kB
- Research Report Heterogeneous Catalysis 2014-2016 1.49 MB
