Quantitative high-pressure pair distribution function analysis

The collection of scattering data at high pressure and temperature is now relatively straightforward thanks to developments at high‐brightness synchrotron radiation facilities. Reliable data from powders, that are suitable for structure determination and Rietveld refinement, are routinely collected up to about 30 GPa in either a large‐volume high‐pressure apparatus or diamond anvil cell. In those cases where the total elastic scattering is of interest, as it is in the case of nano‐crystalline and glassy materials, technical developments, including the use of focused high‐energy X‐rays (>80 keV), are advantageous. Recently completed experiments on nano‐crystalline materials at the 1‐ID beamline at the Advanced Photon Source suggest that quantitative data, suitable for pair distribution function analysis, can be obtained.