Soft X-ray Liquid Project

The purpose of this project is the development of soft X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) of liquids for understanding the mechanisms of several chemical processes in solutions. In the present, the projects are conducted using the liquid XAS sysmtes settled at the UVSOR facility, Institute for Molecular Science, Okazaki, Japan and the Photon Factory, KEK, Tsukuba, Japan.

From 2010, we have developed a liquid cell for XAS in transmission mode, where a liquid layer is sandwiched between two silicon nitride membranes, and the thickness of the liquid layer is controllable from 20 nm to 40 μm by adjusting the helium pressure around the liquid cell. We have measured XAS of several liquids and aqueous solutions at carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen K-edges and obtained the liquid structures and its molecular interactions with the combination of molecular dynamics simulations and inner-shell quantum chemical calculations. We have applied the XAS measurements to metal complexes, polymers, and biomolecules in solutions, and observed the microfluidics using the spatially-resolved XAS. We also performed the operando XAS observations of catalytic, electrochemical, and photochemical reactions in solutions.

We are welcome to perform collaboration works using the liquid XAS systems at UVSOR and KEK-PF. If you are interested in these systems, please contact to Dr. Masanari Nagasaka.

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