Local structure of liquids and solid silver halides probed by XAFS

Investigation of the local structure of the high-temperature liquid and sol id phases in the 300-725 K range of AgBr has been performed using the x-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS). Structural results are compared with existi ng diffraction studies and computer simulations demonstrating the reliabili ty of the XAS technique in determining the short-range structure. Present r esults on solid AgBr are in agreement with known thermal expansion data. Th e short-range g(r) of liquid AgBr is reconstructed showing the unique insig ht provided by the XAS technique in measuring short-range atom-atom correla tions in liquids.