Trends in anomalous small-angle X-ray scattering in grazing incidence for supported nanoalloyed and core-shell metallic nanoparticles

As atomic structure and morphology of particles are directly correlated to their functional properties, experimental methods probing local and average features of particles at the nanoscale elicit a growing interest. Anomalous small-angle X-ray scattering (ASAXS) is a very attractive technique to investigate the size, shape and spatial distribution of nanoobjects embedded in a homogeneous matrix or in porous media. The anomalous variation of the scattering factor close to an absorption edge enables element specific investigations. In the case of supported nano-objects, the use of grazing incidence is necessary to limit the probed depth. The combination of grazing incidence with the anomalous technique provides a powerful new method, anomalous grazing incidence small-angle X-ray scattering (AGISAXS), to disentangle complex chemical patterns in supported multi-component nano-structures. Nevertheless, a proper data analysis requires accurate quantitative measurements associated to an adapted theoretical framework. This paper presents anomalous methods applied to nanoalloys phase separation in the 1–10 nm size range, and focuses on the application of AGISAXS in bimetallic systems: nanocomposite films and core-shell supported nanoparticles.