X-Ray Absorption Spectroscopy (XAS)

Abstract

The phenomenon of X-ray absorption is indeed at the origin of discovery of X-ray radiation itself by William Conrad Röntgen in 1895. Nevertheless, it is only in 1971 that a seminal paper allows the development of the corresponding spectroscopy, in conjunction with the use of synchrotron radiation. Since then, X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) has become a widely used technique in many scientific fields. The purpose of this chapter is to give a good overview of XAS from theory, experiments, to data treatment and applications in photochemistry. After a brief introduction devoted to the history of XAS, X-ray matter interactions will be described. Then, we will focus on XAS itself, from basic knowledge to the more recent experimental developments.