50 years anniversary of the discovery of the core level chemical shifts. The early years of photoelectron spectroscopy

Abstract

The pioneering years of photoelectron spectroscopy in Uppsala are discussed, especially the work leading to the discovery of the core level chemical shifts. At a very early stage of the project, the pioneering group observed what they described as evidence for chemical shifts in the core level binding energies. However, it can now be seen that the initial observations to a large extent was due to charging of the samples. It is interesting to note that the decisive experiment was realized, not as a result of a systematic study, but was obtained with a large element of serendipity. Only when a chemical binding energy shift was observed between two S2p electron lines in the same molecule, the results were accepted internationally, and the fascinating expansion of modern core level photoelectron spectroscopy could start.