'Atomic' XAFS as a probe of electronic structure

Abstract

Atomic XAFS (AXAFS) offers the potential for a new tool to gain relatively detailed electronic structure and polarization information on systems, in-situ, that may not contain long range geometric order. We have shown previously that AXAFS can monitor changes in the charge of less than 0.05e per surface Pt atom on a metallic cluster, and "sees" interactions from ions 2 and 3 shells removed from the absorber atom. The AXAFS lineshape allows a differentiation between the through space field polarization and the through bond inductive effects. Applications have been made to in situ Pt electrodes, ion-cation interactions in solution, and supported noble metal catalysts.