Development and Improvement of an Electrochemical Cell for X-Ray Fluorescence and Absorption Spectroscopy

Abstract

The use of X-ray spectroscopy is an essential technique for the study of any material. Our research investigated the electrochemical cell design and improvement for X-ray absorption and fluorescence spectroscopy. Our objective was to improve the design capability of the current electrochemical cell design to perform absorption and fluorescence spectroscopy at once. By changing the geometry of the receiving window on the electrochemical cell, we could accomplish both fluorescence and absorption spectroscopy functions for CHEXS experiments. Our approach was a simple, inexpensive prototype cycle that anyone could use. Using a hobbyist Computer Numerical Control (CNC) and free 3D CAD software, anyone can develop a reliable electrochemical cell using our design. The electrochemical cell was fabricated using a small computer numerical control system, which allowed a fast turnaround for our project. Our work contributed to designing an open-source electrochemical cell that CHESS or any user could use, modify and share for future projects. Scientifically, we aimed to implement the ability to do both fluorescence and absorption spectroscopy, incorporate the ability to purge the cell with a gas, decrease ionic resistance in the cell to have all the electrodes within the same cell, and avoid leaks.The development of a new electrochemical cell design was made to improve the reliability and performance of the cell for CHESS experiments. By re-arranging the positions of the working electrode (WE), counter electrode (CE), and reference electrode (RE), we accomplished low ionic resistance within the cell. In addition, creating a 45-degree angle slope on both sides of the X-ray receiving window will allow the design of the electrochemical cell to perform fluorescence and absorption spectroscopy simultaneously. Furthermore, an add-on to the top of the electrochemical cell was designed to perform gas purging of the cell successfully. Lastly, the change from an o-ring to a gasket addressed the leakage problem thoroughly.