A state-of-the-art experimental setup for soft X-ray photo- and Auger-electron
spectroscopy from liquid phase has been built for operation at the
synchrotron-light facility BESSY II, Berlin. The experimental station is named
SOL3, which is derived from solid, solution, and solar, and refers to the aim
of studying solid–liquid interfaces, optionally irradiated by photons in the
solar spectrum. SOL3 is equipped with a high-transmission hemispherical
electron analyzer for detecting electrons emitted from small molecular
aggregates, nanoparticles, or biochemical molecules and their components in
(aqueous) solutions, either in vacuum or in an ambient pressure environment.
In addition to conventional energy-resolved electron detection, SOL3 enables
detection of electron angular distributions by the combination of a ±11°
acceptance angle of the electron analyzer and a rotation of the analyzer in
the polarization plane of the incoming synchrotron-light beam. The present
manuscript describes the technical features of SOL3, and we also report the
very first measurements of soft-X-ray photoemission spectra from a liquid
microjet of neat liquid water and of TiO2-nanoparticle aqueous solution
obtained with this new setup, highlighting the necessity for state-of-the-art
electron detection
