Master degree in Materials Science

Soft X-ray absorption spectroscopy (NEXAFS) at synchrotron sources offers unique electronic sensitivity, eventually coupled with surface-sensitive response. The combined analysis of L-edges of redox-active metal centers and K-edges of low-Z elements present in reactant/adsorbed molecules is expected to enable unprecedented insights into surface catalytic/adsorption process. While NEXAFS is conventionally performed under high vacuum, innovative setups available at few beamlines worldwide, today enable the application of the technique under ambient pressure gas feed.

In the context of the MOSCATo PRIN project, and in close collaboration with researchers at the APE-HE beamline (http://www.elettra.trieste.it/elettra-beamlines/ape.html) of the Elettra Synchrotron (Trieste, Italy), the thesis project aims at developing innovative data acquisition and analysis tools for ambient pressure in situ/operando NEXAFS measurements, applied to functional materials of interest in catalysis (e.g. cobalt-based CO-PrOx catalysts or mixed oxide catalysts for CO₂ hydrogenation) or gas adsorption (e.g. MOFs).

Depending on the status of beamtime allocation for the next round, the thesis project could involve participation to a data collection campaign at Elettra.