In the Laboratory for Synchrotron Radiation and Femtochemistry (LSF), we develop and apply x-ray-based tools to solve current scientific and technological challenges in chemistry and related scientific domains. For this purpose, we develop world-leading instrumentation and operate a portfolio of different beamlines and endstations.
In the photon energy domain, our instruments reach from the vacuum ultraviolet regime for valence ionization to imaging and element specific spectroscopy in the soft, tender, and hard-x-ray spectral ranges. The high penetration depth of hard x-rays allows us to perform in-operando experiments in reactors and working devices.
In the spatial domain, our microprobe capabilities in the tender to hard x-ray domain as well as hard x-ray probes allow us to obtain chemical and structural information on the relevant length scales from local atomic resolution to the mesoscale.
In the time domain our capabilities range from the initial electronic excitations with femto- and even attosecond pulses at SwissFEL to high-repetition rate optical pump X-ray probe capabilities at the SLS to following chemical reactions in working reactors and devices with operando approaches.
Organisational Structure of LSF
LSF is composed out of four research groups at the synchrotron source and one research group plus one affiliated research group at the free-electron laser. The Operando Spectroscopy group is matrixed from the Energy and Environment Division (ENE) of PSI for the operation of the SuperXAS beamline. The Maloja group is currently part of the Athos project in LAP and closely affiliated with LSF. Each group operates one beamline or endstation, respectively.
| Group | Beamline | Source | Topics |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reaction Dynamics | VUV | SLS | Reaction mechanisms in catalysis and combustion, atmospheric and astrochemistry. Detection and assignment of elusive reactive intermediates via valence ionization. |
| In-situ Spectroscopy for Environmental Sciences | Phoenix | SLS | Energy and environmental research. Tender x-ray in-situ spectroscopy of low-Z elements, time-resolved measurements, chemical imaging. |
| Chemical Imaging | microXAS | SLS | Multi-dimensional multimodal chemical imaging. Hard x-ray microprobe for spectroscopy and diffraction, time-resolved approaches, radioactive samples. |
| Operando Spectroscopy (with ENE) | SuperXAS | SLS | Heterogeneous catalysis, electrochemistry, photochemistry. Hard X-ray probes for operando spectroscopy including quickEXAFS. |
| Alvra group | Alvra endstation | SwissFEL Aramis | Photochemistry and photobiology. Femtosecond tender to hard x-ray spectroscopy and diffraction, including serial femtosecond crystallography. |
| Maloja group (with LAP) | Maloja endstation | SwissFEL Athos | Ultrafast and non-linear X-ray sciences, single-shot imaging, time-resolved spectroscopy. Applications in atomic, molecular, and optical physics as well as chemical sciences. |