X-ray spectromicroscopy with the scanning transmission X-ray microscope at BESSY II

Using the scanning transmission X-ray microscope at BESSY II, colloidal structures from a Chernozem soil have been studied with a spatial resolution around 60 nm and a spectral resolution of 1700 at the K-absorption edge of carbon. Elemental mapping has been used to determine the distribution of organic matter within the colloidal structures. Spectra have been extracted from image stacks to obtain information about the chemical state. For the analysis of the latter, principal component analysis and cluster analysis have been applied. It was possible, for example, to discriminate clay particles against organic components. (C) 2008 International Union of Crystallography.