Extending resonant diffraction to very high energies for structural studies of complex materials
(PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers utilizing the U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne Advanced Photon Source (APS) have added a twist to the high-energy x-ray pair-distribution-function (PDF) technique by conducting measurements near heavy-element K absorption edges. This exploits resonant scattering to render it selective to the environment of the resonant species. A view of the atomic surroundings from a specific elements vantage point can be simpler to interpret. This approach can be used to gain structural insight into the intrinsic disorder in complex materials, and has been applied to PtPd core-shell nanoparticles relevant to fuel cell catalysis and the multi-ferroic BiFeO3 perovskite of interest in microelectronics applications. Both are examples of nanostructured materials exhibiting disorder that is relevant to their potential applications.