X-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES) spectroscopy

The previous Reviews in Mineralogy volume on spectroscopic methods (Vol. 18 Spectroscopic Methods in Mineralogy and Geology , Frank C. Hawthorne, ed. 1988), contained a single chapter on X-ray absorption spectroscopy which reviewed aspects of both EXAFS (Extended X-ray Absorption Fine Structure) and XANES (X-ray Absorption Near-Edge Structure) (Brown et al. 1988, Chapter 11) However, since publication of that review there have been considerable advances in our understanding of XANES theory and applications. Hence EXAFS and XANES have been separated into their own individual chapters in the current volume. In this chapter we endeavor to bring the reader up to date with regard to current XANES theories, as well as, introducing them to the common applications of the technique in mineralogy, geochemistry and materials science. There have been several reviews of XANES (cf., Brown et al. 1988, Brown and Parks 1989, Manceau et al. 2002, Brown and Sturchio 2002, Mottana 2004, Rehr and Ankudinov 2005, de Groot 2001, 2005, and papers therein). In this chapter on XANES it is not our intention to provide a comprehensive review of all the XANES studies since 1988 but to summarize what X-ray edges are commonly investigated and what one can expect to be able to extract from the data. The reader is also advised to read the chapters in this volume on analytical transmission electron microscopy by Brydson et al. (2014, this volume) where (core level) electron energy loss (EELS) spectroscopy is discussed, and by Lee et al. (2014, this volume) on X-ray Raman spectroscopy (XRS), as these techniques provide element specific information similar to XANES. X-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES) spectroscopy using synchrotron radiation is a well-established technique providing information on the electronic, structural and magnetic properties of matter. In XANES, …