Published online by Cambridge University Press: 15 February 2011
Extended x-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) spectroscopy has been used to determine the structural environment local to iron(III) and zirconium(IV) cations in respectively, nanoscale iron oxyhydroxide and nanoscale zirconium oxide powders. The iron oxyhydroxide powder, produced by the modified reverse micelle (MRM) technology, was found to have a short-range structure most similar to that of goethite (α-FeOOH). The short-range structure of the zirconium oxide powder, produced using the rapid thermal decomposition of solutes (RTDS) technology, was found to be a mixture of monoclinic zirconia and cubic zirconia environments.