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

该奖项旨在促进收购台式X射线吸收精细结构(XAFS)和X射线发射光谱仪(XES)，用于开发用于突破性能源应用的新型功能纳米材料，包括净零碳减排、太阳能转换、传感器和先进核能系统。XAFS/XES仪器将提供对纳米材料研究的广泛的基本了解，并通过提供原子级的理解来扩大研究的传播，从而支持加州大学欧文分校(UCI)现有用户设施的成果。该仪器将用于本科生和研究生水平的课程和研讨会，以进行实验，让学生积极参与数据收集，这将使他们能够将理论和高级数据分析相结合。通过UCI的暑期项目，当地的高中生和本科生将参加设施参观和研讨会，了解该仪器在能源研究中的各种应用，以及光谱技术如何引领纳米材料研究的发展。外展工作将吸引来自不同背景的学生进入UCI，为他们提供进行研究的机会，并鼓励他们攻读STEM学位。XAFS/XES仪器将允许用户在功能纳米材料设计方面进行尖端研究。该系统将用于回答广泛的学科和应用领域的基本问题，包括二氧化碳活化、可再生能源生产燃料和化学品、碳氢化合物裂解、化学循环燃烧、从水中光电化学生产氧气、新型阴极材料、电解槽、新型电池材料、化学品的电化学合成、用于氧还原反应的铂族无金属催化剂、用于电化学电池的稀土-过渡金属复合氧化物、新一代化学电阻传感平台、先进的量子计算机、现代核燃料候选材料和核废料的深度地质处理。该系统的原位和原位操作能力将提供关于材料局部动态环境的基本信息，以及关于物相、表面化学、结构变化和吸附化学的信息。这一新仪器将使XAFS成为可持续能源生产中先进纳米材料开发的主力技术，预计将导致该领域的重大科学进步。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

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.