Proceedings of MATSUS Spring 2025 Conference (MATSUSSpring25)
DOI: https://doi.org/10.29363/nanoge.matsusspring.2025.321
Publication date: 16th December 2024
Electrochemical CO2 reduction is one of the potential negative emission technologies for mitigating climate change effects.[1] By synchrotron wide-angle X-ray scattering (WAXS) it is possible to follow transient changes in overall crystallinity and specific crystal phases of the catalyst phase, as well as to monitor background intensity attributed to the electrolyte.[2] By employing a specialized electrolyzer cell, gas diffusion electrodes on top of a microfluidic channel can be investigated along their z axis, delivering a bigger picture of processes in a 2D or even 3D scale down to μm resolution.[3] Precision and interpretation of such measurements, however, depend strongly on the algorithm used to process the vast amount of diffraction patterns. In this contribution, the challenges and possibilities are discussed, including baseline removal and peak picking for complex mixtures in electrolyzer operation. Different methods of baseline removal deliver varying results, indicating the need to optimize data processing strategies. By application of the right analysis method, different Bi-based catalyst materials or perspirating species present at operating conditions.