Resonant inelastic X-ray scattering for studying materials for renewable energy conversion and storage

Rongfu Hong; Lixin Xing; Mingjie Wu; Zhangsen Chen; Ning Wang; Ling Meng; Siyu Ye; Liguang Wang; Gaixia Zhang; Lei Du

doi:10.1016/j.isci.2025.112820

Resonant inelastic X-ray scattering for studying materials for renewable energy conversion and storage

iScience. 2025 Jun 4;28(7):112820. doi: 10.1016/j.isci.2025.112820. eCollection 2025 Jul 18.

Authors

Rongfu Hong¹, Lixin Xing¹, Mingjie Wu², Zhangsen Chen³, Ning Wang¹, Ling Meng¹, Siyu Ye¹, Liguang Wang⁴, Gaixia Zhang⁵, Lei Du¹

Affiliations

¹ Huangpu Hydrogen Energy Innovation Centre/School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou 510006, P.R. China.
² State Key Laboratory of New Textile Materials and Advanced Processing Technologies, Wuhan Textile University, Wuhan 430200, P.R. China.
³ Institut National de la Recherche Scientifique-Énergie Matériaux et Télécommunications, Varennes, QC J3X 1S2, Canada.
⁴ College of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, P.R. China.
⁵ Department of Electrical Engineering, École de Technologie Supérieure (ÉTS), Montréal, QC H3C 1K3, Canada.

Abstract

Renewable energy conversion and storage technologies, including batteries, fuel cells, and electrolyzers, have garnered global attention. Electrode materials are crucial in determining the performance and lifespan of the corresponding devices. Transition metals and light elements are key components in electrode materials, enabling efficient energy conversion by directly providing active sites or indirectly optimizing material electronic structures. To understand the relationship between electronic structures and device performance, advanced techniques like X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) have been developed. Recently, resonant inelastic X-ray scattering (RIXS) features coupled with X-ray emission spectra (XES) have emerged as a complementary tool, providing additional insights into material electronic structures. This review focuses on recent advances in using XES, particularly RIXS, for studying energy conversion and storage materials, highlighting the unique features and potential of RIXS for electronic structure characterization and quantitative analysis. This work aims to stimulate interests in utilizing RIXS features in the field of energy conversion and storage.

Keywords: Energy Systems; Energy engineering; Energy storage; Materials science.

Publication types

Review