Abstract
X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and chemical analyses by atomic absorption were used to investigate a proposed ultraviolet photolysis of manganese‐doped zinc orthosilicate (willemite) phosphor in fluorescent lamps. Modified Auger parameter values were calculated from XPS spectra using the zinc LMM Auger and photoelectron lines for several samples from aged 40W fluorescent lamps. Identification of the chemical state(s) of zinc on the phosphor surfaces did not show the presence of metallic zinc as proposed by the photolysis mechanism. Failure to reproduce the reported observation, by chemical analysis, of zinc in mercury beads recovered from aged lamps further contradicts the proposed depreciation mechanism.
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