Here the correlation between the chemical shift in X-ray absorption spectroscopy, the geometrical structure and the formal valence state of the Mn atom in mixed-valence manganites are discussed. It is shown that this empirical correlation can be reliably used to determine the formal valence of Mn, using either X-ray absorption spectroscopy or resonant...

Accurate mass density information is critical in high-pressure studies of materials. It is, however, very difficult to measure the mass densities of amorphous materials under high pressure with a diamond anvil cell (DAC). Employing tomography to measure mass density of amorphous samples under high pressure in a DAC has recently been reported. In reality,...

To obtain direct evidence of the formation of the Ni–Mo–S phase on NiMo/Al2O3 catalysts under high-pressure hydrodesulfurization conditions, a high-pressure EXAFS chamber has been constructed and used to investigate the coordination structure of Ni and Mo species on the catalysts sulfided at high pressure. The high-pressure chamber was designed to have...

At the surface of attached kidney stones, a particular deposit termed Randall's plaque (RP) serves as a nucleus. This structural particularity as well as other major public health problems such as diabetes type-2 may explain the dramatic increase in urolithiasis now affecting up to 20% of the population in the industrialized countries. Regarding the...

The development of a wavelength-dispersive spectrometer for microfluorescence analysis at the X-ray Microscopy ID21 beamline of the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) is reported. The spectrometer is based on a polycapillary optic for X-ray fluorescence collection and is operated in a flat-crystal geometry. The design considerations as well...

A study of the coherence and wavefront properties of a pseudo-channel-cut monochromator in comparison with a double-crystal monochromator is presented. Using a double-grating interferometer designed for the hard X-ray regime, the complex coherence factor was measured and the wavefront distortions at the sample position were analyzed. A transverse coherence...