Speaker
Description
Operando spectroscopy plays a central role in catalysis research, but its full potential increasingly depends on efficient automation of experiments, control systems, and data handling. Within the project ROCK-IT (Remote, Operando Controlled, Knowledge-driven, and IT-based), we developed a framework to support automated in situ XAS measurements of catalytic samples at the CATACT beamline at KARA.
The project delivered upgrades in both sample environment control and online data processing. Integration of ASAP::O as a real-time streaming framework enables near real-time access to measurement results and automated conversion of raw SPEC data into metadata-rich NeXuS format. In parallel, a Tango-based device control module was implemented for the dedicated sample environment, allowing automated operation under controlled gas mixtures and temperature conditions. For automation of sample exchange a robot is integrated in the setup.
The framework was tested in a coordinated round-robin study of a Ni catalyst benchmark sample across three Helmholtz centers (KIT, DESY and HZB). The campaign served both as a validation of the technical developments and as a demonstration of interoperable, distributed operando workflows. This contribution presents the implemented infrastructure and discusses lessons learned toward more automated and reproducible operando spectroscopy experiments.
