Abstract
X-ray absorption fine structure (XAFS) is a powerful technique used to analyze a local electronic structure, local atomic structure, and structural dynamics. In this review, I present examples of XAFS that apply to the local structure and dynamics of functional materials: (1) structure phase transition in perovskite PbTiO3 and magnetic FeRhPd alloys; (2) nano-scaled fluctuations related to their magnetic properties in Ni–Mn alloys and Fe/Cr thin films; and (3) the Debye–Waller factors related to the chemical reactivity for catalysis in polyanions and ligand exchange reaction. This study shows that the local structure and dynamics are related to the characteristic function of the materials.
Highlights
The materials discussed here are classified into three types of subjects: (1) local structure change in phase transitions of perovskites and magnetic alloys, (2)
The materials discussed here are classified into three types of subjects: (1) local structure change in phase transitions of perovskites and magnetic alloys, (2) study of local structures of magnetic alloys and thin films, and (3) structure dynamics in chemical reaction systems
X-ray absorption fine structure (XAFS) is sensitive to specific evolutions, such as softmode evolutions or distortion in a specific direction
Summary
Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. X-ray absorption fine structure (XAFS), which has been developed in recent years accompanying the synchrotron radiation source, is becoming a powerful technique that is used to study the local atomic structure, electronic structure, and structural dynamics of ferroelectric and magnetic materials, semiconductors, molecules, and gas-phase systems. Before the 1920s when the fine structure on X-ray absorption spectra was discovered, many researchers, including Japanese scientists, struggled to interpret its behavior [2,3] This can be recognized as the starting point of XAFS when considering the physical meaning, and it led to a structural analysis of the materials. XAFS provides local structure information because of the relatively small electron mean free path emitted during the X-ray absorption process These two characteristic features make XAFS a widely applicable technique, commonly being applied to the following: crystalline and non-crystalline samples, amorphous liquid and solutions, nanoparticles, surfaces, thin films, etc.
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