Energy-dispersed near-edge xray absorption fine structure: A new technique to study dynamic surface processes

We have recently developed a new type of near-edge x-ray absorption fine structure (NEXAFS) technique, "dispersive-NEXAFS" by using energy-dispersed x-rays and a position-sensitive electron-energy analyzer. With this technique a NEXAFS spectrum is taken in a one-shot manner without scanning photon energy resulting in a typical data acquisition time of several tens seconds. This enables to monitor the dynamic surface processes such as film growth and surface reaction. As examples of such applications, we present kinetics studies of catalytic oxidation reactions on the platinum (111) surfaces. Future possible improvements of this technique are also addressed.