NuVant/Northeastern University: Operando Raman micro-spectroscopy of fuel cell catalytic layers

Loupe et al. explain the theory behind the ground-breaking paper on Raman micro-spectroscopy of fuel cell catalytic layers of Kendrick et al. Defocused confocal Raman micro-spectroscopy (DCRMS) is ideal for thermally sensitive materials such as polymers, art work, living cells, etc. The spectroscopy cell required for DCMRS is available for sale. The Loupe et al. Electrochimica Acta, Volume 283, 2018 article can be downloaded and printed free of charge.

DCRMS is shown in the context of more traditional confocal microscopic methods in the figure below. The innovation involves the collection of Raman photons from a circular conical sample volume below the laser focal point. The entire travel of the laser focal point is sequestered in an isotropic medium that does not provide Raman photons over the spectral region of interest.

 

The work above was funded by the Army Research Office and NuVant Systems Inc.