In-situ observation of nickel oxidation using synchrotron based full-field transmission X-ray microscopy

An in situ imaging-based approach is reported to study chemical reactions using full-field transmission x-ray microscopy (TXM). Ni particles were oxidized at temperatures between 400 and 850 degrees C in the TXM to directly observe their morphology change while the chemical composition is monitored by x-ray absorption near edge spectroscopy. Reaction rates and activation energies are calculated from the image data. The goal of this effort is to better understand Ni oxidation in electrode materials. The approach developed will be an effective technique for directly studying chemical reactions of particles and their behavior at the nano-scale. (C) 2013 American Institute of Physics. [http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4789991]