Observation of Reactions using X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy (XAS)

Application of X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy (XAS) to observation of various reactions is reviewed. XAS is a unique tool for studying the local structure around a selected element at atomic scale. XAS can be applied to materials such as crystals, amorphous systems, and liquids, which are situated in various conditions (in gas, at high temperature, with an applied stress,…). Thus XAS is one of the most powerful techniques to investigate the structure change of materials during reactions and understand the mechanism. In this paper, some of typical examples-redox of catalyst, corrosion of steel, heterogeneous reduction of oxides-are shown and their key points are discussed.