Concentration profiles and structural changes of silver intercalated titanium disulfide

Abstract

For the purpose of studying the concentration profile of partially intercalated silver in the layered crystal TiS 2, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) was combined with Rutherford backscattering spectrometry (RBS) using the Nuclear Microprobe at the MicroAnalytical Research Centre, University of Melbourne. The XPS measurements show 4–5 atomic layers of silver on the surface of the Ag x TiS 2 compound. The RBS data exhibit a sharp intercalation front. Silver was found to be present over the whole investigated area of the crystal but to a depth of 100 nm only. In deeper layers the intercalation was restricted to the border zone close to the prism edge. The width of this zone increased with intercalation time. In addition, channeling measurements demonstrate that the intercalation of silver into the TiS 2 crystals results in a deterioration of the crystal quality.