[Ifeffit] EXAFS mean free path in small particles

I'm working on a couple of projects involving nanoparticles, and a collaborator pointed out an old paper by Zhao and Montano (PRB 40,3401(1989)) which claimed theoretical reasons why the electron mean free path in nanos should be smaller than in bulk. This would cause coordination numbers to be underestimated. The effect is supposedly due to a surface plasmon which grows in importance as particle size shrinks. I have reasons why I think this paper exaggerates the possible effects, but I'm posting this to see what other people think about this effect. The paper seems to have gone down into obscurity, but that doesn't mean it isn't right. Thanks. Matthew Marcus