XAFS analysis and applications to nanomaterials

It is crucial to obtain an in-depth insight into the local structure of nanomaterials to understand their structure-activity relationships and thus design and synthesize materials with better performance. X-ray absorption fine structure (XAFS) allows element-specific key structural information at the atomic level to be gathered about samples. Unlike in the case of diffraction-based techniques, the long-range translational symmetry is not a prerequisite for XAFS, which makes XAFS a powerful tool for the local structure study of nanomaterials. This article provides an overview of the basics of XAFS, what it can discern about a chemical structure, how data has been analyzed traditionally along with more cutting-edge analytical techniques and the relevant applications to the field of nanomaterials.