ELEMENTAL BINDING-ENERGIES FOR X-RAY PHOTOELECTRON-SPECTROSCOPY

A report is presented here of an analysis of core-electron binding-ene rgy (BE) data for solid elements from four sources. For each set of da ta, a single instrument had been used to measure BEs for many elements . In order to compare BEs from these four sources, it was necessary to recalibrate the BE scales of three instruments; this recalibration wa s performed using reference data from the UK National Physical Laborat ory and a draft calibration standard. Mean BEs were then computed for those elements and core levels for which there were two or more measur ements. Finally, individual differences from the mean values were calc ulated; this analysis disclosed several discrepancies in data due eith er to differences in specimens or to possible mistakes. Plots of diffe rences in BE values from mean values versus BE indicated that the BE s cales of the four instruments were close to linear. The mean BE values for each element appear to be a useful reference set for the determin ation of chemical shifts in X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy.