Towards the bottom of the periodic table

Actinide and lanthanide chemistry is currently experiencing a renaissance, due to the prospects of obtaining novel materials relevant for applications in chemical synthesis, electronics, materials science, nanotechnology, biology and medicine. Most of the fascinating properties of the lanthanide and actinide materials are related to the partially filled 4f/5f valence shell and in contrast to the rest of the periodic table, are poorly understood. This contribution will provide a brief overview of applications of advanced X-ray techniques that have recently become available for studying the electronic structure of actinide and lanthanide materials at The European Synchrotron (ESRF).