Mössbauer spectroscopy is uniquely able to probe hyperfine interactions by looking at the short-range order of resonant atoms. Materials containing an appropriate isotope as one of their constituent atoms, such as iron or tin, are readily investigated. But even materials that do not contain Mössbauer-active atoms can be investigated if the probe atoms are incorporated in minor quantities (ca. 0.1 at.-%) to act as molecular-level indicators.

These 35 papers collected here represent a state-of-the-art description of Mössbauer spectroscopy techniques applied to advanced materials. The topics covered comprise investigations of nanomaterials, nanoparticles, and quasicrystals, artificially structured materials as well as applications of Mössbauer spectroscopy in chemistry, mineralogy and metallurgy. The main aim of is the dissemination of information on research and recent developments of the method in materials science as obtained in leading Mössbauer laboratories.

Inhalt
I. Nanoscale Systems.- Nanocrystalline Oxides and Sulphides Prepared by Hydrothermal Processing and Mechanical Milling.- Mechanosynthesis of Nanostructured Materials.- Iron(III) Oxides Formed during Thermal Conversion of Rhombohedral Iron(III) Sulfate.- Phase Analysis of the Fe-C Nanopowder Prepared by Laser Pyrolysis.- II. Conversion Electron MÖssbauer Spectroscopy.- On the Applications of Mössbauer Spectroscopy to the Study of Surfaces.- Conversion Electron Mössbauer Spectroscopy Study of Langmuir-Blodgett Films.- Modification of Steel Surfaces Following Plasma and Ion Beam Implantation Investigated by Means of CEMS.- CEMS Studies of Laser Treated Disordered Amorphous and Nanocrystalline Alloys.- CEMS Measurement of Surface Hardening of Toothed Wheels.- III. Magnetism.- Magnetic Iron-Based Oxides Investigated by 57Fe Mössbauer Spectrometry.- Mattis'Magnetics and Disordered Systems.- Hyperfine Magnetic Structure and Magnetic Properties of Invar Fe-Ni-C Alloys.- Investigation of Magnetic Properties in Iron-Based Nanocrystalline Alloys by Mössbauer Effect and Magnetization Measurements.- MOMS Magnetic Orientation Mössbauer Spectroscopy: Determination of Spin Orientations in Ion Irradiated Iron Films.- IV. Nanocrystalline Alloys and Metals.- Mössbauer Effect in Iron-Based Nanocrystalline Alloys.- Nanocrystalline Fe81-xNixZr7B12 (x = 1040) Alloys Investigated by Mössbauer Spectroscopy.- Corrosion of Fe-Based Nanocrystalline Alloys.- Mössbauer and Atomic Force Microscopy Observations of Modified Surfaces of Fe-Si Steel 167.- Mössbauer Investigation of Surface Processing by Pulsed Laser Irradiation in Reactive Atmospheres.- Application of Mössbauer Spectroscopy and Positron Annihilation Spectroscopy for Testing of Neutron-Irradiated Reactor Steels.-Mössbauer Spectroscopy of Commercial Galvannealed Zinc Coatings.- V. Synchrotron Radiation.- Nuclear Resonant Scattering of Synchrotron Radiation.- Synchrotron Mössbauer Reflectometry for Investigation of Hyperfme Interactions in Periodical Multilayers with Nanometer Resolution.- Diffusion Studies in Ordered Alloys.- Nuclear Resonance Inelastic Scattering of Synchrotron Radiation in Oxides with Colossal Magnetoresistance.- VI. Minerals.- Pyrite: Linking Mössbauer Spectroscopy to Mineral Magnetism.- Synthesis of Iron Sulfides: A Mössbauer Study.- Mössbauer Spectroscopy in Studying the Thermally Induced Oxidation of Fe2+ Cations in Iron-Bearing Silicate Minerals.- VII. New Developments.- Mössbauer Diffractometry.- Emission Mössbauer Spectroscopy in CoO.- Comparative Transmission and Emission Mössbauer Studies on Various Perovskite-Related Systems.- Trends in Mössbauer Polarimetry with Circularly Polarized Radiation.- New Trends in Mössbauer Spectroscopy Focused on Nanostructured Magnetic Materials.- The Use of the Wavelet Transform for Mössbauer Spectra Fitting.- Dose Measurements in Mössbauer Spectroscopy and Dose Measurements by Mössbauer Spectroscopy.- Author Index.