Kramers - Kronig analysis of reflectance data: III. Approximations, with reference to sodium iodide

Infrared spectroscopic monitoring of solid-state processes

We put a spotlight on IR spectroscopic investigations in materials science by providing a critical insight into the state of the art, covering both fundamental aspects, examples of its utilisation, and current challenges and perspectives focusing on the solid state.

Site- and phase-selective x-ray absorption spectroscopy based on phase-retrieval calculation

Understanding the chemical state of a particular element with multiple crystallographic sites and/or phases is essential to unlocking the origin of material properties. To this end, resonant x-ray diffraction spectroscopy (RXDS) achieved through a combination of x-ray diffraction (XRD) and x-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) techniques can allow for the measurement of diffraction anomalous fine structure (DAFS). This is expected to provide a peerless tool for electronic/local structural analyses of materials with complicated structures thanks to its capability to extract spectroscopic information about a given element at each crystallographic site and/or phase. At present, one of the major challenges for the practical application of RXDS is the rigorous determination of resonant terms from observed DAFS, as this requires somehow determining the phase change in the elastic scattering around the absorption edge from the scattering intensity. This is widely known in the field of XRD as the phase problem. The present review describes the basics of this problem, including the relevant background and theory for DAFS and a guide to a newly-developed phase-retrieval method based on the logarithmic dispersion relation that makes it possible to analyze DAFS without suffering from the intrinsic ambiguities of conventional iterative-fitting. Several matters relating to data collection and correction of RXDS are also covered, with a final emphasis on the great potential of powder-sample-based RXDS (P-RXDS) to be used in various applications relevant to practical materials, including antisite-defect-type electrode materials for lithium-ion batteries.

Phonon characteristics, crystal structure, and intrinsic properties of a Y(Mg1/2Sn1/2)O3 ceramic

Herein, a Y(Mg_1/2Sn_1/2)O₃ (YMS) ceramic was synthesized using a conventional solid-state reaction method.

Revisit to diffraction anomalous fine structure

The diffraction anomalous fine structure (DAFS) method that is a spectroscopic analysis combined with resonant X-ray diffraction enables the determination of the valence state and local structure of a selected element at a specific crystalline site and/or phase. This method has been improved by using a polycrystalline sample, channel-cut monochromator optics with an undulator synchrotron radiation source, an area detector and direct determination of resonant terms with a logarithmic dispersion relation. This study makes the DAFS method more convenient and saves a large amount of measurement time in comparison with the conventional DAFS method with a single crystal. The improved DAFS method has been applied to some model samples, Ni foil and Fe3O4 powder, to demonstrate the validity of the measurement and the analysis of the present DAFS method.

SYNTHESIS AND OPTICAL CHARACTERIZATION OF PYROELECTRIC NANOPOWDERS BASED ON PZT (95/5)

Pb(Zr1-x, Tix)O3 (x = 0.05) with pyroelectric properties have been synthesized by sol–gel technique at low temperatures. XRD results indicate that the powder has perovskite structure without secondary phases and the average of particle size was estimated to be about 40 nm in diameters. The optical constants such as refractive index, n, extinction coefficient, k, and the dielectric function of PZT nanopowders have been investigated by Fourier transmittance infrared (FTIR) spectrum and Kramers–Kronig (KK) analysis program. The use of the KK method to analyze the normal incidence infrared (IR) reflectance spectra with a single resonance has also been described. The results indicated that the optical constant increases slowly as temperature of calcinations increases.