Resonant Scattering as a Rapid and Site-Specific Spatiochemical Probe of Patterned Interfaces

The advent of highly precise nanofaborication tools has enabled the development of a new generation of mesoscale materials with potential across a variety of applications, but concomitant progress in the characterization techniques is also required.

In this presentation, we reveal a simple, yet powerful, patterning approach for sub-nm characterization that takes advantage of the physical processes intrinsic to small angle resonant X-ray scattering in order to 1) decouple the bulk from the interface scattering signal, 2) enhance the strength of the interfacial signal, and 3) collect a site-specific x-ray absorption spectra.

We demonstrate the potential of our approach by combining it with recently-developed in-situ/operando instrumentation compatible with a variety of soft and tender x-ray techniques. In particular, we highlight how the statistically-significant shape and electronic structure of a buried Ni(OH)2 interface can be monitored as it is charged/discharged under aqueous condictions with sub-nanometer spatial resolution and sub-millisecond time resolution. Moreover, we will show how this approach may be extended to a variety of materials relevant across a variety of fields including semiconductors, polymer science, energy conversion/storage, etc.