ASAXS studies of nanostructure and synthesis routes of bimetallic Cu-Ni nanoparticles under development for catalysis application

SAXS and ASAXS are the methods of choice to investigate sizes, size distributions, shape, composition and preparation paths of nanoparticles. The aim of our proposed project is to elucidate the nanostructure and its development of bimetallic Cu-Ni nanoparticles. They are foreseen for the catalytic Sabatier reaction, in that CO2 will be reduced to methane. Moreover, the X-ray K-absorption edges of Ni and Cu are close-by to each other. Therefore, only ASAXS is able to enhance and vary the contrast between Ni or Cu dominated structural parts, to distinguish between alloyed or core-shell structures. Moreover, the overlapping anomalous of the anomalous scattering effects of Ni and Cu will allow to understand these more complex behavior and to test newer theories. Finally these experiments shall also aim to develop the SAXS and ASAXS capabilities at ID01, taking advantage from the improved synchrotron parameters.