A new cell for the study of in situ chemical reactions using X-ray absorption spectroscopy

An in situ cell for reductive and oxidative treatments at different temperatures that allows the possibility of recording data as a function of temperature has been designed and constructed for X-ray absorption experiments at the GILDA beamline BM08 of ESRF. The cell is linked to a mass quadrupole spectrometer providing control of the reaction gases and monitoring of the products. The apparatus allows measurements to be performed both in transmission and fluorescence geometry. The cell was tested by studying the CO oxidation reaction promoted by a Pt/ceria-zirconia-supported catalyst. The CO2 yield is correlated with the structural results confirming the existence of a strong metal-support interaction between the Pt metal clusters and the ceria-zirconia support.