June 1, 2019 marks a historically important accomplishment for SESAME, where the very first scientific paper presenting results using data obtained at SESAME’s X-ray absorption fine structure/X-ray fluorescence (XAFS/XRF) spectroscopy beamline was published in Applied Catalysis B: Environmental.
S: Bac et al. Applied Catalysis B: Environmental, 259, 2019, 117808 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0926337319305545
Synchrotron measurements performed at SESAME were carried out by the research group of Associate Professor Emrah Ozensoy (Bilkent University Chemistry Department and UNAM-National Nanotechnology Center Ankara, Turkey), in collaboration with the research group of Professor Ahmet Kerim Avcı (Boğaziçi University, Chemical Engineering Department, Istanbul, Turkey) and Dr Messaoud Harfouche (XAFS/XRF beamline scientist, SESAME, Allan, Jordan).
The paper entitled Exceptionally active and stable catalysts for CO2 reforming of glycerol to syngas is the outcome of a measurement campaign at SESAME in July 2018 and focuses on the catalytic valorization of a biomass waste material (i.e. glycerol) to obtain synthesis gas (or syngas, CO + H2). Glycerol is an important renewable feedstock for the large-scale catalytic production of synthetic liquid fuels through a process called Fischer-Tropsch synthesis. In the words of Emrah Ozensoy “XAFS/XRF experiments performed at SESAME were instrumental for us to understand the electronic structure of the Co/CoOx and Ni/NiOx nanoparticles serving as the catalytic active sites. Particularly, complementing the experimental data acquired in our labs with the results obtained at SESAME allowed us to examine the nature of the fresh catalysts and compare them with that of the spent catalysts obtained after the catalytic reaction, revealing crucial molecular-level insights regarding the catalytic aging and poisoning mechanisms.”
>Read more on the SESAME website
Image: Kerem Emre Ercan Some of the researchers who contributed to the publication and data acquisition (from left to right, Yusuf Koçak, Kerem E. Ercan, and M. Fatih Genişel)