Visualizing sulfur with X-rays: From molecules to tissues. (3rd July 2019)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: George, Graham N.; Pickering, Ingrid J.; Cotelesage, Julien J. H.; Vogt, Linda I.; Dolgova, Natalia V.; Regnier, Nathan; Sokaras, Dimosthenis; Kroll, Thomas; Sneeden, Eileen Y.; Hackett, Mark J.; Goto, Kei; Block, Eric
• Is Part Of: Phosphorus, sulfur, and silicon and the related elements. Volume 194:Number 7(2019)
• Page Start: 618
• Page End: 623
• Publication Date: 2019-07-03
• Subjects: Sulfur -- speciation -- X-ray absorption spectroscopy -- X-ray fluorescence imaging -- advanced X-ray spectroscopy; Sulfur compounds -- Periodicals; Organosulfur compounds -- Periodicals; Phosphorus compounds -- Periodicals; Organophosphorus compounds -- Periodicals; Silicon compounds -- Periodicals; Organosilicon compounds -- Periodicals; 546
• DOI: 10.1080/10426507.2019.1602618
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1042-6507

Abstract

Abstract: Sulfur is sometimes called a spectroscopically silent element because there are so few tools for probing its chemistry. This paper will review how sulfur K-edge X-ray absorption spectroscopy and related methods can be used to overcome this limitation, using examples from the authors' research. X-rays from synchrotron radiation sources provide the means to study essentially any element in a variety of systems, ranging from pure compounds, to complex mixtures and even structured systems such as biological tissues. We show that sulfur K-edge X-ray absorption spectroscopy provides an important spectroscopic probe of sulfur chemistry in a range of systems, including those containing reactive species. Using a micro-focused X-ray beam, chemically-dependent X-ray fluorescence imaging can be used to image different sulfur species at a variety of spatial resolutions from microscopic to macroscopic. Increased sensitivity and deeper insights into electronic structure will be available in future studies using a suite of methods that are collectively known as advanced X-ray spectroscopy. Graphical abstract: UF0001