Quantitative analysis of deconvolved X-ray absorption near-edge structure spectra: a tool to push the limits of the X-ray absorption spectroscopy technique

A deconvolution procedure has been applied to K-edge X-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES) spectra of lanthanoid-containing solid systems, namely, hexakis(dmpu)praseodymium(III) and -gadolinium(III) iodide. The K-edges of lanthanoids cover the energy range 38 (La)-65 (Lu) keV, and the large widths of the core-hole states lead to broadening of spectral features, reducing the content of structural information that can be extracted from the raw X-ray absorption spectra. Here, we demonstrate that deconvolution procedures allow one to remove most of the instrumental and core-hole lifetime broadening in the K-edge XANES spectra of lanthanoid compounds, highlighting structural features that are lost in the raw data. We show that quantitative analysis of the deconvolved K-edge XANES spectra can be profitably used to gain a complete local structural characterization of lanthanoid-containing systems not only for the nearest neighbor atoms but also for higher-distance coordination shells.