XPS is an application of the photoelectric effect (Acrobat (PDF) 184kB Jul29 21) described by Einstein (1905, and was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1921), in which electrons are emitted from atoms in response to impinging electromagnetic radiation. Reuse: This item is offered under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license You may reuse this item for non-commercial purposes as long as you provide attribution and offer any derivative works under a similar license. It is almost always the case that the surface composition and chemistry of materials, measured on the order of a few atomic layers (~10 nm), is different from the 'bulk' composition determined by methods such as energy dispersive spectrometry (EDS) with excitation volumes that can extend as much as 3 microns into the material.įundamental Principles of X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy XPS is used to support research on surface-mediated processes such as sorption, catalysis, redox, dissolution/precipitation, corrosion, and evaporation/deposition type reactions. XPS is used to characterize the surfaces of diverse materials such as inorganic compounds (minerals), semiconductors, organic compounds, and thin films and coatings on natural and engineered materials. XPS is routinely used to determine a) the composition of material surfaces (elemental identification), the relative abundances of these components on surfaces (semi-quantitative analysis), and c) the chemical state of polyvalent ions by measuring the binding energies of elements, which is related to the nature and strength of their chemical bonds. In high concentrations, hydrogen sulfide can cause death by means of respiratory paralysis, and sulfur dioxide is known to be one of the causes of acid rain and a dangerous component in air pollution.X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) is a surface sensitive, non-destructive technique used routinely to analyze the outermost ~10 nm (~30 atomic layers) of natural and engineered materials. Sulfuric acid is commonly known as battery acid. An important manufactured chemical, sulfuric acid, is produced using sulfur. Even one of Jupiter’s moons owes it’s colors to various forms of sulfur. Sulfur is found in meteorites, volcanoes, and hot springs. Obtained from: pure form or as sulfide/sulfate mineralsĪs a minor component of fats, body fluids, and skeletal materials, this pale yellow element is essential to human life. Name origin: Sanskrit sulvari, arabic sufra

Xps peak sulphur s2p