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Abstract
CLÆSS is a general-purpose absorption spectroscopy beamline at the ALBA CELLS Spanish synchrotron. Its optical layout is presented here along with its powerful capabilities for collecting absorption spectra with high signal to noise ratio in an unusually wide energy range (2.4–63.2 keV). Continuous energy scanning for quick scans is available, allowing to collect X-ray absorption near edge structure and extended X-ray absorption fine structure spectra in 3–5 and 8–10 min, respectively. The full automatization of the beamline allows performing successive measurements at different conditions without attending to the beamline. The different experimental setups available to users are reported. Examples of XAS measurements are presented, showing the performances of the beamline at different standard conditions.
Public Interest Statement
X-ray absorption spectroscopy is an element-selective local probe to access the structure and electronic properties of matter in all its forms: crystals, glasses or amorphous, liquids, and gases. This is predominantly a synchrotron technique, usually not accessible in research laboratories, due to its intrinsic necessity to tune constantly the incoming photon energy and because it requires a high photon flux. Due to its wide versatility, this technique attracts a large and growing community of users, comprising physicists, material and catalysis scientists, environmentalists, electrochemists, biologists, etc.
CLÆSS is the new general-purpose absorption spectroscopy beamline at the ALBA CELLS Spanish synchrotron which was opened to users from 1 March 2013.
In this paper, we report about its optical layout and available experimental setups, showing its powerful capabilities for collecting quick absorption spectra with high signal-to-noise ratio in an unusually wide energy range (2.4–63.2 keV).
Acknowledgements
The design, building, and commissioning of CLÆSS beamline have been the result of the collaborative efforts of many people including technicians and engineers, without whom these results would not have been achievable. In particular, the authors acknowledge S. Ferrer Fábregas, J. Nicolás Román, C. Colldelram Peroliu, L. Ribó Mor, R. Javier Homs Puron, J. Avila Abellan, J. Prieto Burgos, I. Sics, C. Ruget, and Z. Reszela, for their fundamental help and support. Moreover, the authors wish to acknowledge A. Crisol Ariño and A. Carballedo Costa, from the ALBA engineering section, for the design of the sample setups under development. Finally, the two in situ cells for catalysis have been built in collaboration with Instituto de Tecnologia Quimica de Valencia (ITQ-UPV) within the framework of ICTS granted by the Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovacin of Spain.
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Notes on contributors
L. Simonelli
Our group research activities are focused to investigate different functional materials with a particular interest to the study of the interplay between lattice and electronic properties in highly correlated systems and other technologically relevant materials, such as high-Tc superconductors, thermoelectric chalcogenides, battery materials, shape-memory alloys, and environments or health correlated materials.
Our experimental approach is to exploit XAS because of its powerfulness and versatility. XAS is a site-specific probe of the distribution of valence electrons, local structure, and chemistry around a selected absorber atom. Moreover, it does not require crystalline order and is therefore an ideal technique to investigate matter in all its forms: crystals, liquids, glasses, and gases.
XAS is predominantly a synchrotron technique due to its intrinsic necessity to tune constantly the incoming photon energy and because it requires a high photon flux. At ALBA synchrotron, CLASS is a beamline dedicated to XAS.