Question

From my understanding, further evidence for the structures of molecules can be obtained from single crystal X-ray crystallography which involved irradiating a crystal with X-rays and looking at the positions and intensities of the diffracted beams. It gives a 3D picture of the molecule with bond lengths and angles. But does X-ray spectroscopy exist and if so how is it different?

Answer 1

X-ray spectroscopy is different from X-ray crystallography. X-ray spectroscopy focuses on studying the electronic properties of atoms and molecules using X-rays, while X-ray crystallography provides information about their 3D structure.

Step-by-step explanation:

X-ray spectroscopy does exist and it is different from X-ray crystallography.

While X-ray crystallography provides information about the 3D structure of molecules, X-ray spectroscopy focuses on the interaction of X-rays with matter to study the electronic properties of atoms and molecules.

In X-ray spectroscopy, X-rays are used to excite the inner electrons of atoms or molecules, causing them to move to higher energy levels.

When these electrons return to their ground state, they emit X-rays with specific energies. By analyzing the energies of these emitted X-rays, scientists can determine various properties such as the chemical composition, oxidation states, and electronic structure of the sample.

Overall, X-ray spectroscopy complements X-ray crystallography by providing information about the electronic properties of molecules, while X-ray crystallography gives insights into their 3D arrangement.