Publication detail

W 4f electron binding energies in amorphous W-B-C systems

ŽENÍŠEK, J. ONDRAČKA, P. ČECHAL, J. SOUČEK, P. HOLEC, D. VAŠINA, P.

Original Title

W 4f electron binding energies in amorphous W-B-C systems

Type

journal article in Web of Science

Language

English

Original Abstract

In this paper, we critically evaluate the applicability of the procedure proposed in [Mirzaei et al., Surf. Coat. Technol. 358 (2019) 843-849] which is based on the fitting of the XPS spectrum of amorphous W-B-C material into three components with fixed peak positions to get the relative amount of W-W, W-B, and W-C bonds. We show that W-W bonds substantially influence positions of the peak components. We have verified this assumption by generating a set of models of amorphous W-B-C with different compositions (W:B:C ratio) and calculating the W 4f core electron binding energies employing ab initio methods. This enabled us to formulate the relationship between the W 4f electron binding energies (BE) and the local atomic environments of W atoms. Our analysis confirms the expected W 4f chemical shifts in W-B-C caused by W-B and W-C bonds and reveals that W-W bonds shift the W 4f electronic states in the same direction as W-B bonds, which has substantial implications for the correct interpretation of the measured XPS spectra.

Keywords

X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS); Bonds; Amorphous materials; Atomistic model

Authors

ŽENÍŠEK, J.; ONDRAČKA, P.; ČECHAL, J.; SOUČEK, P.; HOLEC, D.; VAŠINA, P.

Released

1. 6. 2022

Publisher

ELSEVIER

Location

AMSTERDAM

ISBN

1873-5584

Periodical

APPLIED SURFACE SCIENCE

Year of study

586

Number

1

State

Kingdom of the Netherlands

Pages from

152824-1

Pages to

152824-9

Pages count

9

URL