2.2.3. X-ray Powder Diffraction (XRD)

A XRD (PW1769, Philips Analytical, Eindhoven, The Netherlands) using Cu-Kα (Ni-filtered) radiation was used for crystalline phase determination. The measured 2θ angle range was 10.0◦–70.0◦ with a step size of 0.02◦ and a counting time of 1.25 s per step. The size of the metal particle phase was obtained using the Scherrer equation [26]. The correction for instrument broadening was applied after background subtraction and curve-fitting procedures on the assumption of Lorentzian peak profiles.
