The Cr deposition on phthalimide has been investigated as a model syst
em, for the understanding of interfacial interactions of Cr with polyi
mides. The XPS measurements performed on such a simple system provide
C(1s), O(1s) and N(1s) core level spectra, which could be interpreted
without ambiguity. Thus, the analysis of all spectra indicates that, a
t the initial stage of the formation of the Cr-phthalimide interface,
the metal attack is mainly directed on the C=O function, and that at t
his stage of the metallization, the phenylene ring is not involved in
the interfacial interactions.