The advancement of renewable energy critically depends on the rational design of catalysts, which necessitates a thorough understanding of the underlying materials. At Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility (SSRF), the Energy Material beamline (E-line) has been established with three independent endstations – soft X-ray, hard X-ray and a combined soft/hard station – dedicated to fundamental studies of photovoltaic and catalytic processes, energy conversion mechanisms and related phenomena. Covering a broad photon energy range from 130 eV to 10000 eV, the combined endstation is specifically designed for in situ photoemission spectroscopy, enabling layer-by-layer analysis of materials and devices. Through techniques such as wide-range hard X-ray photoemission spectroscopy (HAXPES) and X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS), this endstation provides comprehensive insights into the chemical and electronic properties of catalysts. This report outlines the layout of the combined soft/hard beamline and the endstation, and evaluates its performance in terms of photon flux, energy resolution and representative applications in model catalysis. In particular, the use of in situ X-ray photoemission spectroscopy/HAXPES is expected to significantly advance the fundamental understanding of functional materials, thereby accelerating the development of efficient, reliable and affordable renewable energy solutions.
LIANG et al. (2026) studied this question.