Atomic XAFS

The X-ray absorption fine structure (XAFS) methods (EXAFS and X-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES)) are suitable techniques for determination of the local structure of metal complexes. Of these methods, the former provides structural information relating to the radial distribution of atom pairs in systems studied the number of neighboring atoms (coordination number) around a central atom in the first, second, and sometimes third coordination spheres the... 

Temperature-programmed reduction combined with x-ray absorption fine-structure (XAFS) spectroscopy provided clear evidence that the doping of Fischer-Tropsch synthesis catalysts with Cu and alkali (e.g., K) promotes the carburization rate relative to the undoped catalyst. Since XAFS provides information about the local atomic environment, it can be a powerful tool to aid in catalyst characterization. While XAFS should probably not be used exclusively to characterize the types of iron carbide present in catalysts, it may be, as this example shows, a useful complement to verify results from Mossbauer spectroscopy and other temperature-programmed methods. The EXAFS results suggest that either the Hagg or s-carbides were formed during the reduction process over the cementite form. There appears to be a correlation between the a-value of the product distribution and the carburization rate. 

Ohta, T. (2002) Surface XAFS applied to atomic and molecular adsorbates, in Chemical Application of Synchrotron Radiation, Part IT. X-ray Application, Advance Series in Physical Chemistry, Vol. 12B (ed. T.-K. Sham), World Scientific, London, pp. 664—706. 

Zeolite-supported metal catalysts with atoms and clusters existing both inside and outside the zeolite channels are often examples of the situation depicted in Fig. Id. Again, XAFS has been an important tool for characterizing such catalysts (4-10). 

Extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) spectrum Part of an X-ray absorption spectrum that is used to identify the coordination of atoms, estimate bond lengths, and determine the adsorption complexes on the surfaces of adsorbents. EXAFS spectra may provide useful information on the speciation (valence state), surface complexes, and the coordination of arsenic on adsorbents (e.g. (Randall, Sherman and Ragnarsdottir, 2001 Ladeira, et al. (2001) Teixeira and Ciminelli (2005) Kober, et al. (2005)) (compare with X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS), X-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES) spectra, and X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy (XAFS)). 

X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) Methods that use X-rays to investigate the physical and chemical properties of materials on an atomic scale. XAS includes X-ray adsorption fine structure (XAFS) spectroscopy and its X-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES) and extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) spectra. 

Extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) on the other hand, is due to the interference of electron waves between atoms, and provides local structure information that is limited to a few interatomic distances. Here, we talk about the distance and the number of nearest and next-nearest neighbors of atoms in the catalyst. The more uniform the environment is through the catalyst, the more meaningful is the EXAFS information. Related to this method is X-ray absorption near edge spectroscopy (XANES), which deals with the detailed shape of the absorption edge, and yields important information on the chemical state of the absorbing atom. Commonly, one uses nowadays the acronym XAFS to include both EXAFS and XANES. 

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