The CLEAR X-ray emission spectrometer available at the CLAESS beamline of ALBA synchrotron

Anisotropic atomic displacements, local orthorhombicity and anomalous local magnetic moment in Ba0.6K0.4Fe2As2 superconductor

We have investigated the in-plane local structure of the Ba0.6K0.4Fe2As2 superconductor by polarized Fe K-edge extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) measurements with temperature. The near neighbor bond distances and their stiffness, measured by polarized EXAFS in two orthogonal directions, are different suggesting in-plane anisotropy of the atomic displacements and local orthorhombicity in the title system. The X-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES) spectra reveal anisotropy of valence electronic structure that changes anomalously below ∼100 K. The local iron magnetic moment, measured by Fe Kβ X-ray emission spectroscopy (XES), increases below the anomalous temperature and shows a decrease in the vicinity of the superconducting transition temperature (Tc ∼ 36 K). The results provide a clear evidence of coupled local lattice, electronic and magnetic degrees of freedom to induce possible nematic fluctuations in an optimally hole doped iron-based superconductor.

Mercury speciation in selenium enriched wheat plants hydroponically exposed to mercury pollution

Mercury (Hg) pollution in agricultural soils and its potential pathway to the human food chain can pose a serious health concern. Understanding the pathway of Hg in plants and how the speciation may change upon interaction with other elements used for biofortification can be critical to assess the real implications for the final plant-based product. In that respect, selenium (Se) biofortification of crops grown in Se-poor soil regions is becoming a common practice to overcome Se deficient diets. Therefore, it is important to assess the interplay between these two elements since Se may form complexes with Hg reducing its bioavailability and toxicity. In this work, the speciation of Hg in wheat plants grown hydroponically under the presence of Hg (HgCl2) and biofortified with Se (selenite, selenate, or a 1:1 mixture of both) has been investigated by X-ray absorption spectroscopy at the Hg L3-edge. The main Hg species found in wheat grains was the highly toxic methylmercury. It was found that the Se-biofortification of wheat did not prevent, in general, the Hg translocation to grains. Only the 1:1 mixture treatment seemed to have an effect in reducing the levels of Hg and the presence of methylmercury in grains.

Temperature dependent local inhomogeneity and magnetic moments of (Li1-xFex)OHFeSe superconductors

We have combined the extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) and X-ray emission spectroscopy (XES) to investigate the local structure and the local iron magnetic moments of (Li_1-xFe_x)OHFeSe (x∼0.2) superconductors. The local structure, studied by Fe K-edge EXAFS measurements, is found to be inhomogeneous that is characterized by different Fe-Se bond lengths. The inhomogeneous phase exhibits a peculiar temperature dependence with lattice anomalies in the local structural parameters at the critical temperature T_c (36 K) and at the spin density wave (SDW) transition temperature T_N (130 K). Fe Kβ XES shows iron to be in a low spin state with the local Fe magnetic moment evolving anomalously as a function of temperature. Apart from a quantitative measurement of the local structure of (Li_1-xFe_x)OHFeSe, providing direct evidence of nanoscale inhomogeneity, the results provide further evidence of the vital role that the coupled electronic, lattice and magnetic degrees of freedom play in the iron-based superconductors.