Modeling the structure and composition of nanoparticles by extended X-ray absorption fine-structure spectroscopy

Many metal clusters in the 1-nm size range are catalytically active, and their enhanced reactivity is often attributed to their size, structure, morphology, and details of alloying. Synchrotron sources provide a wide range of opportunities for studying catalysis. Among them, extended X-ray absorption fine-structure (EXAFS) spectroscopy is the premier method for investigating structure and composition of nanocatalysts. In this review, we summarize common methods of EXAFS analysis for geometric and compositional characterization of nanoparticles. We discuss several aspects of the experiments and analyses that are critical for reliably modeling EXAFS data. The most important are sample homogeneity, the width of the size and compositional distribution functions, and accounting for multiple-scattering contributions to EXAFS. We focus on the contribution of structural disorder and structural/compositional heterogeneity to the accuracy of three-dimensional modeling.