Educational Programs and Outreach
Bolingbrook High School ESRP 2021
Study of the Absorption Edge of Carbon Using X-ray Raman Scattering
Authors:
- Students:
- Tejas Patnaik
- Trisha Patnaik
- Nikitha Sheth
- Zihao Xu
- Annabeth Yeung
- Teachers:
- Lois Emde
- Mentors:
- Paul Chow (Argonne National Laboratory, Sector 16 ID-D)
Advanced Photon Source Sector 16: HP-CAT
The purpose of this experiment is to investigate the nature of bonding in various forms of carbon. This investigation will be done by measuring the absorption edge of carbon in various forms — diamond, graphite, and “glassy carbon”— via X-ray Raman Scattering (XRS) spectroscopy, in which scattered photons are lessened in energy by exciting an inner-shell electron to an unoccupied state. This is analogous to Optical Raman Scattering spectroscopy, where scattered photons of lower energy would interact with the vibration modes of chemical bonds in the substance. The XRS will yield data about the energy levels of each form of carbon. These energy levels are essential to the analysis of a material, as they determine many of a material’s properties.