Core-level Photoelectron Spectroscopy Research Articles

On the Origin of Reduced Cytotoxicity of Germanium-Doped Diamond-Like Carbon: Role of Top Surface Composition and Bonding.

This work attempts to understand the behaviour of Ge-induced cytotoxicity of germanium-doped hydrogen-free diamond-like carbon (DLC) films recently thoroughly studied and published by Jelinek et al. At a low doping level, the films showed no cytotoxicity, while at a higher doping level, the films were found to exhibit medium to high cytotoxicity. We demonstrate, using surface-sensitive methods—two-angle X-ray-induced core-level photoelectron spectroscopy (ARXPS) and Low Energy Ion Scattering (LEIS) spectroscopy, that at a low doping level, the layers are capped by a carbon film which impedes the contact of Ge species with tissue. For higher Ge content in the DLC films, oxidized Ge species are located at the top surface of the layers, provoking cytotoxicity. The present results indicate no threshold for Ge concentration in cell culture substrate to avoid a severe toxic reaction.

Core level photoelectron spectroscopy of heterogeneous reactions at liquid-vapor interfaces: Current status, challenges, and prospects.

Liquid-vapor interfaces, particularly those between aqueous solutions and air, drive numerous important chemical and physical processes in the atmosphere and in the environment. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy is an excellent method for the investigation of these interfaces due to its surface sensitivity, elemental and chemical specificity, and the possibility to obtain information on the depth distribution of solute and solvent species in the interfacial region. In this Perspective, we review the progress that was made in this field over the past decades and discuss the challenges that need to be overcome for investigations of heterogeneous reactions at liquid-vapor interfaces under close-to-realistic environmental conditions. We close with an outlook on where some of the most exciting and promising developments might lie in this field.

Core-Level Photoelectron Spectroscopy Study of UTe2

The valence state of UTe$_2$ was studied by core-level photoelectron spectroscopy. The main peak position of the U $4f$ core-level spectrum of UTe$_2$ coincides with that of UB$_2$, which is an itinerant compound with a nearly $5f^3$ configuration. However, the main peak of UTe$_2$ is broader than that of UB$_2$, and satellite structures are observed in the higher binding energy side of the main peak, which are characteristics of mixed-valence uranium compounds. These results suggest that the U 5$f$ state in UTe$_2$ is in a mixed valence state with a dominant contribution from the itinerant $5f^3$ configuration.

The molecular structure of the surface of water-ethanol mixtures.

Mixtures of water and alcohol exhibit an excess surface concentration of alcohol as a result of the amphiphilic nature of the alcohol molecule, which has important consequences for the physico-chemical properties of water-alcohol mixtures. Here we use a combination of intensity vibrational sum-frequency generation (VSFG) spectroscopy, heterodyne-detected VSFG (HD-VSFG), and core-level photoelectron spectroscopy (PES) to investigate the molecular properties of water-ethanol mixtures at the air-liquid interface. We find that increasing the ethanol concentration up to a molar fraction (MF) of 0.1 leads to a steep increase of the surface density of the ethanol molecules, and an increased ordering of the ethanol molecules at the surface. When the ethanol concentration is further increased, the surface density of ethanol remains more or less constant, while the orientation of the ethanol molecules becomes increasingly disordered. The used techniques of PES and VSFG provide complementary information on the density and orientation of ethanol molecules at the surface of water, thus providing new information on the molecular-scale properties of the surface of water-alcohol mixtures over a wide range of compositions. This information is invaluable in understanding the chemical and physical properties of water-alcohol mixtures.

The influence of temperature on the nature and stability of surface-oxides formed by oxidation of char

A coal char has been oxidized isothermally at temperatures comprised between 300 and 1073 K. The pre-oxidized chars have been subjected to Temperature Programmed Desorption (TPD) and to core-level high-resolution X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis using Synchrotron radiation to infer the nature of the carbon oxides that populate the surface and their evolution throughout thermochemical processing. For low oxygen coverages and mild oxidation temperatures the prevailing carbon-oxygen moieties are epoxy. Raising the oxidation temperature up to ~723K the edge carbon oxygen complexes (ether-hydroxyl and carbonyl-carboxyl) increase. The amounts of CO + CO2 desorbed during TPD also increase with temperature and duration of oxidation for relatively mild oxidative treatments (temperature below ~723K). Upon further increase of the oxidation temperature the amount of CO + CO2 decrease and the ratio of CO/CO2 increases remarkably. Altogether, results suggest the existence of a strong link between a remarkable shift of surface oxides from epoxy to ether/carbonyl and the desorption of CO and CO2. Moreover, the CO/CO2 ratio during desorption can be well correlated with the relative abundance and stability of epoxy moieties with respect to the “edge” oxides. Results are analyzed in the frame of a semi-lumped kinetic model of carbon oxidation with a focus on the role and nature of surface oxides as intermediates in carbon gasification reactions.

Short-range order and electronic structure of radiation-damaged zircon according to X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy

Core-level and valence-band X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy was employed to study the dose-dependent radiation effects in the short-range order and the electronic structure of natural U, Th-bearing zircon near-surface layers. Single crystals from different localities (Ratanakiri, Cambodia; Mud Tank, Australia; Highlands, Sri Lanka) exhibiting wide variations in the accumulated radiation dose D≈(0 ÷ 9.2)·1018 α-decays/g was investigated. The dose values obtained by electron probe microanalysis and Raman micro-spectroscopy were used to correlate the samples with the two percolation transitions (p1, p2) in the amorphous-crystalline structure of damaged zircon. The dose-dependent variations in Eb (530.9–531.3, 101.7–102.4, 182.8- 183.3 eV) and FWHM (1.32–2.57, 1.47–1.77, 1.16 -1.55 eV) of the O1s, Si2p, and Zr3d5/2 core levels, respectively, were attributed to changes in the ensemble of non-equivalent short-range order structures. An increase in the dose resulted in the complication of the oxygen sublattice, with the following nearest environments of O atoms: (1) O (Si, [8]Zr, [8]Zr), Eb = 530.8–531.2 eV, the amount of > ~3.5 apfu (at D p2). For the first time, under an increase in the radiation dose, the oppositely directed changes in the effective charges of Si and Zr cations were detected in damaged zircon. This phenomenon was assigned to an increase in the content of the short-range order fragments characteristic of pure oxides SiO2 (namely, Si-O-Si) and ZrO2 (namely, [7]Zr) as well as to the influence of the anions O (Si, Si, [8]Zr), and the assignment was independently confirmed by the valence band analysis. The sequence of transformations in the Si-O and Zr-O sublattices was shown to be not concurrent: a partial polymerization of SiO4 tetrahedra occurs mainly at low and medium doses (D p2) in the amorphous fraction.

Core-level shifts in x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy of arsenic defects in silicon crystal: A first-principles study

We systematically investigated the arsenic (As) 3d core-level x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) binding energy and formation energy for As defects in silicon by first-principles calculation with a high accuracy of 0.1 eV by careful evaluation of the supercell size. For As, we adopt a pseudopotential with 3d states as the valence and the spherical hole approximation to ensure the convergence of self-consistent calculation for the XPS binding energy with large size systems. Some of the examined model defects have threefold coordinated As atoms. The XPS binding energies of these As atoms are distributed in the narrow region from −0.66 eV to −0.73 eV in neutral charge states. Such defects in negative charge states have a lower XPS binding energy by about 0.1 eV. From the XPS binding energy and electrical activity, negatively charged defects of a vacancy and two adjacent substitutional As atoms (As2V) are the most probable candidates for the experimentally observed peak at −0.8 eV called BEM from the reference substitutional As peak. Under the experimental condition, we find that As2V−,2− do not deeply trap electrons and are electrically inactive. We also demonstrate the surface effect that surface states near the bandgap decrease the XPS binding energy, which may generate defects with low binding energies similarly to the experimental peak at −1.2 eV called BEL.

Precise chemical state analyses of ultrathin hafnium films deposited on clean Si(111)-7 × 7 surface using high-resolution core-level photoelectron spectroscopy

Herein, well-defined ultrathin hafnium films on Si(111) -7 × 7 [Hf/Si(111)] were prepared by using electron beam heating in an ultrahigh vacuum (UHV) chamber at a pressure below 1.1 × 10−8 Pa. High-resolution core-level photoelectron spectroscopy of the Si 2p1/2, 3/2 and Hf 4f5/2, 7/2 levels combined with a synchrotron radiation X-ray light source was employed to reveal the chemical states at the interface and surface of ultrathin Hf/Si(111) films. Ultrathin Hf layers grow on clean Si(111)-7 × 7 surfaces by a lever rule that the first phase is not consumed when subsequent phases form. Therefore, it was found that the surface and interface of Hf/Si(111) certainly contains three components, which can be ascribed as metallic Hf layers, Hf monosilicide (HfSi), and Si-rich Hf silicide just above the Si substrate (HfSi4). The metallic Hf layers were observed to comprise some diffused Si atoms. According to the results obtained from photoelectron spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy, ultrathin Hf layers change into HfSi2 islands on a bare Si(111)-7 × 7 surface after annealing at 1073 K. Small dot-shaped islands of HfSi2 appeared after annealing a two-monolayer thick Hf sample; whereas, rectangular HfSi2 islands including metallic Hf species randomly appeared after annealing a six-monolayer thick Hf sample. The long axes of the rectangle islands expanded in a direction that connected the corner holes in a model with dimers, adatoms, and stacking-faults (DAS model) of a clean Si(111)-7 × 7 surface. Our precise chemical analyses will be very useful for preparing well-defined interfaces and surface structures for obtaining next generation 3D metal-oxide-semiconductor field effect transistors and ferroelectric devices.

Kagome-like silicene: A novel exotic form of two-dimensional epitaxial silicon

Since the discovery of graphene, intensive efforts have been made in search of novel two-dimensional (2D) materials. Decreasing the materials dimensionality to their ultimate thinness is a promising route to unveil new physical phenomena, and potentially improve the performance of devices. Among recent 2D materials, analogs of graphene, the group IV elements have attracted much attention for their unexpected and tunable physical properties. Depending on the growth conditions and substrates, several structures of silicene, germanene, and stanene can be formed. Here, we report the synthesis of a Kagome-like lattice of silicene on aluminum (111) substrates. We provide evidence of such an exotic 2D Si allotrope through scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) observations, high-resolution core-level (CL) and angle-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy (ARPES) measurements, along with Density Functional Theory calculations.

Hydrogen Bonding of Ammonia with (H,OH)-Si(001) Revealed by Experimental and Ab Initio Photoelectron Spectroscopy.

Combining experimental and ab initio core-level photoelectron spectroscopy (periodic DFT and quantum chemistry calculations), we elucidated how ammonia molecules bond to the hydroxyls of the (H,OH)-Si(001) model surface at a temperature of 130 K. Indeed, theory evaluated the magnitude and direction of the N 1s (and O 1s) chemical shifts according to the nature (acceptor or donor) of the hydrogen bond and, when confronted to experiment, showed unambiguously that the probe molecule makes one acceptor and one donor bond with a pair of hydroxyls. The consistency of our approach was proved by the fact that the identified adsorption geometries are precisely those that have the largest binding strength to the surface, as calculated by periodic DFT. Real-time core-level photoemission enabled measurement of the adsorption kinetics of H-bonded ammonia and its maximum coverage (0.37 ML) under 1.5 × 10-9 mbar. Experimental desorption free energies were compared to the magnitude of the adsorption energies provided by periodic DFT calculations. Minority species were also detected on the surface. As in the case of H-bonded ammonia, DFT core-level calculations were instrumental to attribute these minority species to datively bonded ammonia molecules, associated with isolated dangling bonds remaining on the surface, and to dissociated ammonia molecules, resulting largely from beam damage.

Predicting Core Level Photoelectron Spectra of Amino Acids Using Density Functional Theory.

Core level photoelectron spectroscopy is a widely used technique to study amino acids. Interpretation of the individual contributions from functional groups and their local chemical environments to overall spectra requires both high-resolution reference spectra and theoretical insights, for example, from density functional theory calculations. This is a particular challenge for crystalline amino acids due to the lack of experimental data and the limitation of previous calculations to gas phase molecules. Here, a state of the art multiresolution approach is used for high-precision gas phase calculations and to validate core hole pseudopotentials for plane-wave calculations. This powerful combination of complementary numerical techniques provides a framework for accurate ΔSCF calculations for molecules and solids in systematic basis sets. It is used to successfully predict C and O 1s core level spectra of glycine, alanine, and serine and identify chemical state contributions to experimental spectra of crystalline amino acids.

Initial oxidation processes of ultrathin hafnium film and hafnium disilicide islands on Si(100)-2 × 1 surfaces studied using core-level X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy

We investigated the initial oxidation of ultrathin hafnium (Hf) film on Si(100)-2 × 1 [Hf/Si(100)] using high resolution Hf 4f5/2, 7/2, Si 2p1/2, 3/2, and O 1s core-level photoelectron spectroscopy. Ultrathin Hf/Si(100) film was prepared using electron-beam evaporation in an ultrahigh vacuum chamber below 1.5 × 10−8 Pa. Our results revealed the formation of metallic Hf layers containing a few Si atoms on the Si(100)-2 × 1 substrate. A Hf monosilicide (HfSi) component was also formed in the vicinity of the interface region. Metallic Hf rapidly oxidized, transforming into hafnium dioxide (HfO2) and its suboxides, after exposure to O2 molecules at <4.1 Langmuir. In accordance with the oxidation of metallic Hf, Si atoms in metallic Hf layers were also oxidized into typical Si (sub)oxides and Hf silicate. The other HfSi component at the interface was nearly unreactive with O2 molecules. These facts suggest that the metallic Hf component plays a vital role in the initial oxidation of the ultrathin Hf/Si(100) film. After annealing from 873 K to 973 K, the Hf suboxides in low ionic valences progressed into fully oxidized HfO2. Once the annealing temperature reached ~1073 K, oxygen atoms were entirely removed from the ultrathin HfO2/Si(100) film containing SiO2 at the interface. Simultaneously, ultrathin HfO2 layers changed into islands of Hf disilicide (i-HfSi2) on a bare Si(100)-2 × 1 surface. The i-HfSi2 component showed slight reactivity with O2 molecules at 298 K. In contrast to the initial oxidation of clean Si(100)-2 × 1 surface, the dangling bonds on bare Si(100)-2 × 1 surface among i-HfSi2 oxidized preferentially. This was due to some back-bonds of the Si dimers on bare Si(100)-2 × 1 that were occupied by Hf atoms in the form of HfSi2.

Electronic structure and morphology of thin surface alloy layers formed by deposition of Sn on Au(1 1 1)

We demonstrate formation of thin AuSn and Au2Sn surface alloy layers at room and elevated substrate temperatures (TS = 413–493 K), respectively by the deposition of Sn on Au(1 1 1) using core-level X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and scanning tunneling microscopy. Low energy electron diffraction patterns show different surface structures: p(3 × 3) R15° at room temperature for AuSn, 2113 at TS = 413 K and (3×3) R30° at TS = 493 K for Au2Sn. Angle resolved photoemission spectroscopy reveals evolution of bands from an electron-like surface state to appearance of a hole-like band structure corresponding to AuSn and Au2Sn. The 2113 phase of Au2Sn, which has a unit cell of oblique symmetry, exhibits an interesting linear band that meets at the Fermi level in the zone-center and have Fermi velocity comparable to graphene. Thus, our study establishes that Au-Sn bimetallic surface alloys have interesting electronic properties with potential for future applications.

Tracing the initial state of surface oxidation in black phosphorus

Black phosphorus has emerged as a class of two-dimensional semiconductors, but its degradation caused by surface oxidation upon exposure to ambient conditions has been a serious issue. A key to understanding the mechanism of surface oxidation is the initial-state structure that has remained elusive. We study the initial state of surface oxidation in black phosphorus by low-temperature core-level photoelectron spectroscopy with the in situ dosage of O2 in the ultrahigh-vacuum condition. Our high-resolution P 2p core-level spectra show two clearly distinct initial-state components of P atoms that have one and two neighboring O atoms, respectively. It is followed by the rapid growth of other higher binding-energy components originating from incomplete P2O5 bonded to black phosphorus with one or two less bonds to O atoms. The variation in the proportion of these components reveals the initial-state structure of dissociative adsorption and its evolution to the final form of phosphorus oxides.

Triphenylene‐Derived Electron Acceptors and Donors on Ag(111): Formation of Intermolecular Charge‐Transfer Complexes with Common Unoccupied Molecular States

Over the past years, ultrathin films consisting of electron donating and accepting molecules have attracted increasing attention due to their potential usage in optoelectronic devices. Key parameters for understanding and tuning their performance are intermolecular and molecule-substrate interactions. Here, the formation of a monolayer thick blend of triphenylene-based organic donor and acceptor molecules from 2,3,6,7,10,11-hexamethoxytriphenylene (HAT) and 1,4,5,8,9,12-hexaazatriphenylenehexacarbonitrile (HATCN), respectively, on a silver (111) surface is reported. Scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy, valence and core level photoelectron spectroscopy, as well as low-energy electron diffraction measurements are used, complemented by density functional theory calculations, to investigate both the electronic and structural properties of the homomolecular as well as the intermixed layers. The donor molecules are weakly interacting with the Ag(111) surface, while the acceptor molecules show a strong interaction with the substrate leading to charge transfer and substantial buckling of the top silver layer and of the adsorbates. Upon mixing acceptor and donor molecules, strong hybridization occurs between the two different molecules leading to the emergence of a common unoccupied molecular orbital located at both the donor and acceptor molecules. The donor acceptor blend studied here is, therefore, a compelling candidate for organic electronics based on self-assembled charge-transfer complexes.

Effect of Ti doping on the crystallography, phase, surface/interface structure and optical band gap of Ga2O3 thin films

The effect of titanium (Ti) doping on the crystal structure, phase, surface/interface chemistry, microstructure and optical band gap of gallium oxide (Ga2O3) (GTO) films is reported. The Ti content was varied from 0 to ~ 5 at% in co-sputtering, using Ga2O3 ceramic and Ti metal targets, deposited GTO films produced. The sputtering power to the Ti target was varied in the range of 0–100 W, while keeping the sputtering power to Ga2O3 constant at 100 W, to produce GTO films with 0–5 at% Ti. The Ti-incorporation-induced effects were significant for the crystal structure, phase, surface/interface chemistry and morphology, which in turn induce changes in the band gap. The high-resolution core-level X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analyses confirm that the Ga ions exist as Ga3+ in both intrinsic Ga oxide and GTO films. However, XPS data reveal the formation of Ga2O3–TiO2 films with the presence of Ti4+ ions with increasing Ti sputtering power, i.e., higher Ti contents in GTO. Evidence for the formation of nanocrystalline Ga2O3–TiO2 films was also found in the structural analyses performed using electron microscopy and grazing incidence X-ray diffraction. Significant band gap reduction (Eg ~ 0.9 eV) occurs in GTO films with increasing Ti dopant concentration from 0 to 5 at%. A correlation between the Ti dopant concentration, surface/interface chemistry, microstructure and band gap of GTO films is established.

First-principles calculation of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy binding energy shift for nitrogen and phosphorus defects in 3C-silicon carbide

We systematically investigated the formation energies and the core-level X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy binding energy (XPSBE) shifts of nitrogen (N) 1s and phosphorus (P) 2p for defects including N and P in 3C-SiC by a first-principles calculation using the generalized gradient approximation, whose reliability for n-type defects was confirmed by some tests using the HSE06 hybrid functional. XPSBEs were separated into the local potential average around the impurity and the relaxation energy of the wave function to analyze the relationship between the XPSBE shift and the defect structures. It is difficult to understand the relaxation energy intuitively. The electrons localized around the impurity atom, which have energy levels in energy gaps, make a large contribution to the relaxation energies. Considering the formation energies, we predicted some XPS peaks expected to be found.

Scanning Photoelectron Spectroscopy of Tapered Cross Sections of Perovskite Solar Cells: Element Distribution, Band Alignment, Space Charge Layers and Photo-Voltage Distributions

Photoelectron spectroscopy is used for the characterization of chemical and electronic properties of semiconductor interfaces. As the information depth is extremely low, inner interfaces of device stacks are analyzed by depositing sequentially the respective contact material onto the base material in vacuum chambers integrated with the PES system. Thus elemental distribution including ionic state of the materials in contact as well as doping and electronic potential distribution induced by interface charge transfer can be monitored. For devices with non planar architecture or deposition processes not compatible with vacuum as both are given for perovskite solar cells, this procedure is not applicable. In this paper we demonstrate the photoelectron spectroscopic analysis of a complete working perovskite solar cell ranging from crystalline TiO2 on FTO front contact over perovskite intermixed in meso-TiO2 and the perovskite layer to Spiro-MeoTAD and Au back contact by preparing a tapered cross section of the cell stack. A wet chemically prepared mixed FAPbI3 MAPbBr3 solar cell of 18% efficiency is analyzed. As the analyzed spot size is in the range of the layer thicknesses a small angle tapered edge is prepared by polishing in order to drastically increase the local resolution across the cell stack. The tapered cross section is measured in the dark and under open circuit operando conditions. Using core level photoelectron spectroscopy the elemental distributions which forms in the wet chemical deposition process of the precursor solution are derived from the measured core level intensities. In addition, the electronic contact potentials are mapped, which allows conclusions on the band diagram of the full stack. We find that the perovskite absorber is n-type and a strong band bending in the p-type spiro-MeOTAD hole transport contact layer. Shifts of the core level emission binding energies under in situ illumination indicate that the cell photo-potential is induced to a large part at this back contact. We conclude that the diffusion voltage of the cells is not formed across the TiO2-perovskite front contact but mostly across the perovskite/SpiroMeOTAD/Au back contact. This example demonstrates that the wealth of information that can be obtained on full devices applying the method of scanning photoelectron spectroscopy on device cross section using a tapered edge approach.

On the High Structural Heterogeneity of Fe-Impregnated Graphitic-Carbon Catalysts from Fe Nitrate Precursor

Wet impregnation is broadly applied for the synthesis of carbon-supported metal/metal oxide nanostructures because of its high flexibility, simplicity and low cost. By contrast, impregnated catalysts are typified by a usually undesired nanostructural and morphological heterogeneity of the supported phase resulting from a poor stabilization at the support surface. This study on graphite-supported Fe-based materials from an Fe nitrate precursor is concerned with the understanding of the chemistry that dictates during the multistep synthesis, which is key to designing structurally homogeneous catalysts. By means of core-level X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, near-edge X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy and atomic resolution electron microscopy, we found not only a large variety of particles sizes and morphologies but also chemical phases. Herein, thermally stable single atoms and few atoms clusters are identified together with large agglomerates of an oxy-hydroxide ferrihydrite-like phase. Moreover, the thermally induced phase transformation of the initially poorly ordered oxy-hydroxide phase into several oxide phases is revealed, together with the existence of thermally stable N impurities retained in the structure as Fe–N–O bonds. The nature of the interactions with the support and the structural dynamics induced by the thermal treatment rationalize the high heterogeneity observed in these catalysts.

Bayesian Hamiltonian Selection in X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy

Core-level X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) is a useful measurement technique for investigating the electronic states of a strongly correlated electron system. Usually, to extract physical information of a target object from a core-level XPS spectrum, we need to set an effective Hamiltonian by physical consideration so as to express complicated electron-to-electron interactions in the transition of core-level XPS, and manually tune the physical parameters of the effective Hamiltonian so as to represent the XPS spectrum. Then, we can extract physical information from the tuned parameters. In this paper, we propose an automated method for analyzing core-level XPS spectra based on the Bayesian model selection framework, which selects the effective Hamiltonian and estimates its parameters automatically. The Bayesian model selection, which often has a large computational cost, was carried out by the exchange Monte Carlo sampling method. By applying our proposed method to the 3$d$ core-level XPS spectra of Ce and La compounds, we confirmed that our proposed method selected an effective Hamiltonian and estimated its parameters appropriately; these results were consistent with conventional knowledge obtained from physical studies. Moreover, using our proposed method, we can also evaluate the uncertainty of its estimation values and clarify why the effective Hamiltonian was selected. Such information is difficult to obtain by the conventional analysis method.