Dedicated beamline will support SLAC’s growing catalysis research community

Catalysts make our modern lives possible. By reducing the start-up energy needed for chemical reactions, they facilitate the production of fuels, plastics and textiles as well as vital water treatment processes.

As a result, researchers are always looking to design new and improved catalysts—and for guidance, they often turn to X-ray facilities like the Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource (SSRL) at the Department of Energy’s SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, where they can get a better handle on catalysts’ molecular structures.

Now, in response to a boom in catalysis users, researchers have transformed Beam Line 10-2 into the first dedicated space for catalysis studies at SSRL.

“We need world-class capabilities to stay at the forefront of synchrotron science in catalysis,” said Simon Bare, SLAC distinguished staff scientist and co-director of the SSRL Chemistry & Catalysis Division. “The new Beam Line 10-2 provides just that.”

Co-ACCESS supports a growing user community

In 2019, Bare and colleagues at the SUNCAT Center for Interface Science and Catalysis—a partnership between SLAC and Stanford’s School of Engineering—established Co-ACCESS, the Consortium for Operando and Advanced Catalyst Characterization via Electronic Spectroscopy and Structure.

The program is a collaborative framework designed to assist SSRL users throughout their catalysis research, from initial idea to data publication. The initiative spurred significant growth in SSRL’s catalysis user community, expanding from six principal investigators to more than 70 in just six years.

“This growth is the outcome of our supportive approach,” said Adam Hoffman, SLAC staff scientist and lead scientist on Beam Line 10-2. “We don’t just provide world-class facilities; we help researchers in all stages of their work, from writing competitive proposals for beamtime and guiding them through the experimental process to helping them process their results.”

The Co-ACCESS team also shares their expertise in operando catalysis studies—research that examines catalysts in action under real-world conditions.

“In operando studies, we create different environmental conditions to observe their effect on the catalyst,” Hoffman said. “If I change the composition of the gas in the atmosphere, like adding more oxygen, will that cause oxidation within the sample? If I increase the pressure, does that change how the system behaves? How about the temperature? Does the material change in reaction to these environmental changes?”

These studies offer insights into catalyst structure and behavior, helping researchers to refine and optimize their designs. However, manipulating parameters such as atmosphere, pressure and temperature within the experimental chamber requires a lot of equipment. Previously, the Co-ACCESS team relied on a portable lab setup, which involved repeatedly setting up and dismantling equipment as they moved between available SSRL beamlines. With their growing user base, Co-ACCESS demonstrated the need for a fully dedicated beamline for operando catalysis studies.

Introducing the Beam Line 10-2 for catalysis

The state-of-the-art Beam Line 10-2 features two specialized experimental stations: one for scattering experiments, which reveal catalyst structure, and another for spectroscopy, enabling real-time monitoring of catalytic reactions.

A standout feature of the beamline is its cutting-edge quick-scanning monochromator, developed and engineered by Oliver Mueller, senior engineer in SSRL’s Chemistry & Catalysis Division. “Monochromators are at the heart of every beamline,” Mueller explained.

“Using a pair of crystals, a monochromator diffracts the X-ray beam to select specific energies or wavelengths for an experiment. By adjusting the orientation of the crystals, researchers can sweep through a given energy range and compile a full spectrum of data.”

Because stability and accuracy are crucial, this process is typically slow—traditional monochromators take around 90 seconds to collect each spectrum, yielding about 40 spectra per hour. But researchers wanted a tool that could capture changes on a per-second timescale, the timescale on which catalytic reactions occur.

“Our challenge was to maintain the system’s stability while sweeping quickly through a given energy range,” Mueller said. “Our design relies on vibration-free mechanics that are precise to a thousandth of a degree.”

The beamline’s new quick-scanning monochromator employs an additional motor that rapidly rocks through various energy levels.

“With this capability, we can generate a spectrum every 50 milliseconds, translating to 72,000 spectra per hour, a huge level-up for time-resolved catalysis experiments,” said Hoffman. Now, scientists can get a precise play by play of the catalytic interactions they are studying.

“As the only facility that pairs a quick scanning instrument with a high-flux beamline, we can produce world-leading data and maintain a leadership position in catalysis research,” Bare said.

Engineering behind the beamline

Constructed on an existing beamline, Beam Line 10-2 required merging new technology with systems dating back decades. “The biggest challenge was the integration of new technologies with older systems,” said Ann McGuire, a mechanical engineer with the SSRL Beamline Design Group. “We wanted to modernize this beamline while retaining as much of the existing infrastructure as possible.”

The engineering team spent five years designing and installing state-of-the-art equipment to direct and control the beam, reaching a significant milestone when the first SSRL X-rays were delivered to the experimental stations in February 2025.

Though primarily focused on catalysis, Beam Line 10-2 also holds promise for fast-charging battery research. During the charging and discharging processes, metals in batteries undergo chemical processes that degrade the batteries in our phones, computers and vehicles. The beamline’s fast-scanning capabilities will help scientists observe these transformations in real time and design more efficient and resilient batteries.

“By combining X-ray diffraction and fast-scanning spectroscopy, we hope to gain insights into both structural and chemical processes as we charge and discharge batteries,” said Molleigh Preefer, a SLAC staff scientist interested in finding new materials for high-performing battery materials. “This beamline will allow us to keep pace with the rapid interactions inside fast-charging batteries that we otherwise could not resolve.”

When beamline testing is complete, Co-ACCESS will accept beamtime proposals for its inaugural user run. “Catalysis is fundamental to many aspects of daily life, and a better understanding of these materials will continue to improve our lives,” Hoffman said. “This facility will provide unique insights unavailable through other means.”

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