Browsing by Author "Petkov, V."

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    Atomic-Scale Structure of Biogenic Materials by Total X-ray Diffraction: A Study of Bacterial and Fungal MnOx
    (AMER CHEMICAL SOC, 2009) Petkov, V.; Ren, Y.; Saratovsky, I.; Pasten, P.; Gurr, S. J.; Hayward, M. A.; Poeppelmeier, K. R.; Gaillard, J. F.
    Biogenic materials are produced by microorganisms and are typically found in a nanophase state. As such, they are difficult to characterize structurally. In this report, we demonstrate how high-energy X-ray diffraction and atomic pair distribution function analysis can be used to determine the atomic-scale structures of MnOx produced by bacteria and fungi. These structures are well-defined, periodic, and species-specific, built of Mn-O-6 octahedra forming birnessite-type layers and todorokite-type tunnels, respectively. The inherent structural diversity of biogenic material may offer opportunities for practical applications.