Prof. Andrew Beale discusses our recently published paper on 5D diffraction imaging in his Behind the Paper article – Chemistry in multiple dimensions

Solid catalysts are used in almost every field of the chemical industry, ranging from pharmaceuticals to petrochemicals as well as the automotive industry, to produce the desired products. These catalytic solids usually comprise complex 3D structures which can be inhomogeneous. In recent years, it has been realised that it is crucial to investigate these materials using characterisation techniques that provide spatially-resolved information as these heterogeneities can play a crucial role in the catalyst performance.

In our recent paper in Nature Communications we show that synchrotron X-ray diffraction computed tomography (XRD-CT) can be used to study the evolution in solid-state composition in complex materials in 3D under real process conditions and as a function of time; specifically a complex multi-component Ni-Pd/CeO₂-ZrO₂/Al₂O₃ solid catalyst under operating conditions.

Read the full article at https://chemistrycommunity.nature.com/channels/1465-behind-the-paper/posts/40955-5d-chemical-imaging