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GIMOXS: A new spectrometer for GIXRF-based, non-destructive characterization of light element containing nanomaterials in the laboratory
Summary
Scientists have built a new lab-based scanner that can detect and analyze tiny nanomaterials—including microplastics—without destroying the sample being tested. This matters because older versions of this technology struggled to detect lightweight materials like plastics, making it hard to study how these particles behave in our environment and bodies. This new tool could help researchers better understand microplastic pollution, paving the way for future studies on its health effects.
Grazing incidence X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (GIXRF), a technique closely related to total reflection X-ray fluorescence analysis (TXRF), is a powerful non-destructive tool for characterization of nanomaterials: not only the (ultra) trace elemental composition, but also material features in the nanometer range can be analysed, such as thickness of surface layers, depth distributions of implanted atoms, and/or the size of nanoparticles. While GI- and TXRF offer high sensitivity for heavier elements, their limited efficiency for light elements (Z < 12) hampers the analysis of some environmentally relevant materials, including micro- and nanoplastics. In this work, we present a new modular lab-based spectrometer (Grazing Incidence Modular X-ray Spectrometer, GIMOXS) that allows for both GI- and TXRF on a wide range of nanomaterials, from metal- to carbon-based systems. The modular set-up is flexible, allowing for excitation with various energies, such as chromium KL 3 or molybdenum KL 3 , depending on analytical needs. The configuration can easily be adapted through electronic stages, which enables quick adjustments in different geometries. An optimized detector with ultra-thin silicon nitride window, in combination with a vacuum chamber and electron trap allows for detection of low energy characteristic photons (down to 0.2 keV, e.g. Z ~ 6). The commissioning and testing of this newly developed instrument revealed sensitivities and performance beyond the current state-of-the-art of non-synchrotron radiation-based instrumentation, which opens up new possibilities for non-destructive characterization of nanomaterials in the lab, both for metallic as well as environmental nanomaterials.