DXCP
Dutch X-ray Characterisation Platform
The enormous challenge to move our society to a sustainable future depends on functional materials such as batteries, solar cells, catalysts, polymers, and functional coatings. Breakthroughs in developing these materials will hinge on understanding their functioning. A national centre is proposed that provides the Netherlands with highly advanced laboratory-based X-ray characterisation methods. The “all eyes and ears approach” will lead to atomic-scale pictures and movies of materials in action and drive the rational design of novel materials and processes, which meet today’s societal challenges, i.e. those related to renewable energy and a circular economy.
Infrastructure and User Services
The Dutch X-ray Characterisation Platform will be the leading national facility for advanced X-ray characterisation of materials that are needed to move our society to a more sustainable future. The objectives are:
- To provide access to Dutch and international researchers based upon scientific excellence of proposed projects, to state-of-the-art lab-based X-ray-characterization facilities including X-ray absorption/emission spectroscopy, X-ray tomography, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and X-ray scattering.
- To increase the competitiveness of Dutch researchers in gaining access to synchrotron beamlines around the world, involving expertise, knowledge build-up by experiments at DXCP facilities and availability of specific infrastructure such as in situ/operando cells.
- To reinforce the X-ray characterization community in the Netherlands and to promote the future availability of emerging compact X-ray sources that can compete in the field of materials characterization with synchrotron radiation.
- To provide broad user training on specific techniques via dedicated technique-specific training at the involved hubs, to provide broader training via a biannual summer school on X-ray characterization of sustainable materials.
- To liaise with other relevant communities in the Netherlands involved in frontier research in fields such as catalysis, energy research, materials science, etc. as well as industrial partners.
Examples/description of the type of research
A major scientific focus in the years to come will be on materials for the energy transition and sustainability, as defined in the Dutch Materials Agenda (MaterialenNL Platform) and other large Dutch and European initiatives. The broad range of materials is exemplified by three main areas, i.e. energy materials, catalysis and sustainable coatings. For all areas, sustainability is an important driver, requiring the development of new materials that enable key technologies and are based on abundant elements avoiding the use of scarce or environmentally damaging ones that are often in use today. Complementary X-ray based techniques as embedded in this LSRI are required for all to provide insights in the (changing) electronic and structural properties, at different spatial and time resolution, ex situ and operando (during operation). Despite the focus on materials to realise the urgent ambitions with respect to sustainability, the facility will be open to all researchers with excellent proposals.
How to access the infrastructure?
Access to the DXCP facilities is open to qualified scientists from all over the world. DXCP accepts proposals submitted by scientists from academic institutions as well as from commercial organisations. Access requires an approved proposal and is granted without cost for non-proprietary research, i.e. research intended for publication in scientific journals. Proposals will undergo peer review. Users wishing to carry out proprietary work must pay for the full costs of the use of the facility including support and proposals will be judged on the basis of feasibility only. The amount of user time for proprietary research is limited to 20%.