Publication of the first scientific paper showing results obtained with SESAME photons

17 June, 2019

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.”

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© 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)

Emrah added that “As international users, we are thrilled to see the growth and development of the experimental facilities at SESAME. We are confident that the continuous future improvements of the experimental capabilities at SESAME beamlines (such as the implementation of planned additions to the X-ray optics and the new X-ray fluorescence detector) will enable us to monitor catalytic samples in real-time and under realistic reaction conditions (i.e. in-situ)”.  

Since it came into operation in 2018, 18 different international research proposals have been granted beam time to run measurements at the SESAME XAFS/XRF beamline. Associated measurement campaigns included user groups from Cyprus, Egypt, Jordan, Pakistan and Turkey