Synchrotron-Based X-Ray Absorption Spectroscopy for the Study of Geological Materials

— X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) is a new highly effective nondestructive technique for diagnostics of the local atomic and electronic structure of materials, including those that do not have long-range order in their atomic arrangement. In particular, X-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES) spectroscopy makes it possible to identify materials, to assess the oxidation states of atoms, and to find the parameters of the full 3D local structure around absorbing atoms with a high degree of accuracy, up to 1 pm for bond lengths and several degrees for bond angles. This review describes the current state and capabilities of XAS spectroscopy and, in particular, XANES in studying terrestrial and extraterrestrial natural materials. Modern synchrotron centers allow the acquisition of XAS spectra of materials with high energy and time resolutions, with microfocusing and nanofocusing, and spectral measurements under real conditions (for example, directly under high pressures and temperatures). These broad possibilities make X-ray absorption spectroscopy a unique highly effective technique for the diagnostics of geological materials.