11-13 November 2019
Africa/Johannesburg timezone
SA-ESRF Light Source Conference

Chemical characterization at the ESRF

12 Nov 2019, 11:00
30m
Oral Plenary Plenary

Speaker

Dr Pieter Glatzel (ESRF)

Description

The highly brilliant X-ray beam at the ESRF allows application of sophisticated techniques for identification of the chemical state. High-resolution powder diffraction pushes the limits of solving and refining of crystal structures and investigating the structure of crystalline, defective and non-crystalline materials via atomic pair distribution function (PDF) analysis. X-ray spectroscopy provides an element-selective tool to study the chemical state of an analyte. Here, the ESRF has been pioneering the development of photon-in/photon-out spectroscopy that allows for higher spectral resolution and probes unoccupied as well as occupied electronic levels (Figure 1). This technique will enter a new dimension with the upgrade programme ESRF-EBS where it will be combined with a micron-sized beam. This unique technical development provides access to the study of “invisible” elements, i.e. analytes in low concentration in a matrix of elements with similar atomic number. The presentation will provide brief explanations of the techniques, present the most important technical developments and give examples to illustrate the new possibilities.

Primary author

Presentation Materials