Elucidating the K-Edge X-Ray Absorption Near-Edge Structure of Cobalt Carbide

The cobalt K-edge X-ray absorption near-edge structure of a cobalt carbide compound, synthetized under in-situ conditions, has been determined by using laboratory-based and synchrotron-based X-ray absorption spectroscopy. We have carburized pure cobalt metal in-situ, avoiding all adverse effects of metal-support interactions as well as any degradation of the cobalt carbide formed. A non-negative matrix factorization was applied to determine the features of the spectrum of cobalt carbide, highly needed to identify this phase in an unambiguous manner in cobalt-based Fischer-Tropsch catalysts.