High real-space resolution structure of materials by high-energy X-ray diffraction

The results of high-energy synchrotron radiation experiments are presented, demonstrating the advantages of the high-resolution atomic pair distribution function technique. The technique can be applied to investigate the atomic arrangement in completely disordered materials such as glass. InGaAs alloys are found to have little positional disorder. Both In and As atoms are found to be statically displaced from their positions in the ideal lattice. In layered dichalcogenides such as WS₂, the electron diffraction study shows that the structure of single layers of WS₂ is similar to that of orthorhombic WT₂.