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- 6 Materialchemie (9)
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We report the results of a Versailles Project on Advanced Materials and Standards interlaboratory study on the intensity scale calibration of x-ray photoelectron spectrometers using low-density polyethylene (LDPE) as an alternative material to gold, silver, and copper. An improved set of LDPE reference spectra, corrected for different instrument geometries using a quartz-monochromated Al Kα x-ray source, was developed using data provided by participants in this study. Using
these new reference spectra, a transmission function was calculated for each dataset that participants provided. When compared to a similar calibration procedure using the NPL reference spectra for gold, the LDPE intensity calibration method achieves an absolute offset of ∼3.0% and a systematic deviation of ±6.5% on average across all participants. For spectra recorded at high pass energies (≥90 eV), values of absolute offset and systematic deviation are ∼5.8% and ±5.7%, respectively, whereas for spectra collected at lower pass energies (<90 eV), values of absolute offset and systematic deviation are ∼4.9% and ±8.8%, respectively; low pass energy spectra perform worse than the global average, in terms of systematic deviations, due to diminished count rates and signal-to-noise ratio. Differences in absolute offset are attributed to the surface roughness of the LDPE induced by sample preparation. We further assess the usability of LDPE as a secondary reference material and comment on its performance in the presence of issues such as variable dark noise, x-ray warm up times, inaccuracy at low count rates, and underlying spectrometer problems. In response to participant feedback and the results of the study, we provide an updated LDPE intensity calibration protocol to address the issues highlighted in the interlaboratory study. We also comment on the lack of implementation of a consistent and traceable intensity calibration method across the community of x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) users and, therefore, propose a route to achieving this with the assistance of instrument manufacturers, metrology laboratories, and experts leading to an international standard for XPS intensity scale calibration.
The lead authors failed to name two collaborators as co-authors. The authors listed should include:
Miss Claudia L. Compean-Gonzalez (ORCID:
0000-0002-2367-8450) and Dr. Giacomo Ceccone (ORCID:
0000-0003-4637-0771).
These co-authors participated in VAMAS project A27, provided data that were analyzed and presented in this publication (and supporting information), and reviewed the manuscript before submission.
We report the results of a Versailles Project on Advanced Materials and Standards (VAMAS) interlaboratory study on the measurement of the shell thickness and chemistry of nanoparticle coatings. Peptide-coated gold particles were supplied to laboratories in two forms: a colloidal suspension in pure water and particles dried onto a silicon wafer. Participants prepared and analyzed these samples using either X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) or low energy ion scattering (LEIS). Careful data analysis revealed some significant sources of discrepancy, particularly for XPS. Degradation during transportation, storage, or sample preparation resulted in a variability in thickness of 53%. The calculation method chosen by XPS participants contributed a variability of 67%. However, variability of 12% was achieved for the samples deposited using a single method and by choosing photoelectron peaks that were not adversely affected by instrumental transmission effects. The study identified a need for more consistency in instrumental transmission functions and relative sensitivity factors since this contributed a variability of 33%. The results from the LEIS participants were more consistent, with variability of less than 10% in thickness, and this is mostly due to a common method of data analysis. The calculation was performed using a model developed for uniform, flat films, and some participants employed a correction factor to account for the sample geometry, which appears warranted based upon a simulation of LEIS data from one of the participants and comparison to the XPS results.
Bacteria generally interact with the environment via processes involving their cell-envelope. Thus, techniques that may shed light on their surface chemistry are attractive tools for providing an understanding of bacterial interactions. One of these tools is Al Kα-excited photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) with its estimated information depth of <10 nm. XPS-analyses of bacteria have been performed for several decades on freeze-dried specimens in order to be compatible with the vacuum in the analysis chamber of the spectrometer. A limitation of these studies has been that the freeze-drying method may collapse cell structure as well as introduce surface contaminants. However, recent developments in XPS allow for analysis of biological samples at near ambient pressure (NAP-XPS) or as frozen hydrated specimens (cryo-XPS) in vacuum. In this work, we have analyzed bacterial samples from a reference strain of the Gram-negative bacterium Pseudomonas fluorescens using both techniques. We compare the results obtained and, in general, observe good agreement between the two techniques. Furthermore, we discuss advantages and disadvantages with the two analysis approaches and the output data they provide. XPS reference data from the bacterial strain are provided, and we propose that planktonic cells of this strain (DSM 50090) are used as a reference material for surface chemical analysis of bacterial systems.
Near-ambient pressure x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (NAP-XPS) is a less traditional form of XPS that allows samples to be analyzed at relatively high pressures, i.e., at greater than 2500 Pa. With NAP-XPS, XPS can probe moderately volatile liquids, biological samples, porous materials, and/or polymeric materials that outgas significantly. In this submission, we show survey, C 1s, O 1s, and N
1s narrow scans from an aqueous solution of a common protein, bovine serum albumin. The C 1s peak envelope is well fit to four symmetric peaks of equal width that correspond to carbon bonded to carbon and hydrogen (C-1), carbon singly bonded to oxygen (C-2), carbonyl and/or amide carbon (C-3), and carboxyl carbon (C-4). Two possible peak fits are considered for the N 1s and O 1s peak envelopes. The N 1s signal is fit to four peaks that correspond to amine (—NH2), Amide (OvCZNH2), ammonium (—NH3 +), and N2(g) nitrogen, and alternatively to three peaks that correspond to amine, amide, and N2(g) nitrogen. The O 1s peak envelope is similarly fit to three and four components.
Here, we present a study on agarose thin-film samples that represent a model system for the exopolysaccharide matrix of biofilms. Povidone-iodide (PVP-I) was selected as an antibacterial agent to evaluate our x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS)-based methodology to trace specific marker elements, here iodine, commonly found in organic matrices of antibiotics. The in-depth distribution of iodine was determined by XPS analyses with variable excitation energies and in combination with argon gas cluster ion beam sputter cycles. On mixed agarose/PVP-I nanometer-thin films, both methods were found to solve the analytical task and deliver independently comparable results. In the mixed agarose/PVP-I thin film, we found the outermost surface layer depleted in iodine, whereas the iodine is homogeneously distributed in the depth region between this outermost surface layer and the interface between the thin film and the substrate. Depletion of iodine from the uppermost surface in the thin-film samples is assumed to be caused by ultrahigh vacuum exposure resulting in a loss of molecular iodine (I2) as reported earlier for other iodine-doped polymers.
Surface-supported metal-organic frameworks HKUST-1 (Hong Kong University of Science and Technology) were used as a model system for a development of a near ambient pressure (NAP) XPS based approach to investigate interaction with atmospheres of water, methanol or pyridine at pressures ranging from 1 to 4 mbar. The films were grown on a gold substrate functionalized with a COOH-terminated self-assembled monolayer using liquidphase epitaxy in a step-by-step fashion. Measurement protocols were developed and optimised for different gases in order to obtain spectra of similar quality in terms of signal intensity, noise and shape. Peak shapes were found to depend on the efficiency of charge compensation. Reference measurements in argon proved to be a useful strategy not only for the evaluation of the Cu(II)-fraction in pristine samples, but also to identify the contributions by the respective gas atmosphere to the C 1s and O 1s photoelectron spectra. Reduced copper was found during the exposition of HKUST-1 to water vapour and pyridine, but this effect was not observed in case of methanol. Additionally, it was established that there are no changes in relative Cu(II) percentage with increasing exposure time. This indicates that saturation was reached already at the lowest time of gas exposure. A detailed elucidation of the mechanism of Cu(II) reduction to Cu(I) in HKUST-1 mediated by water and pyridine is part of ongoing work and not in the scope of the present paper.
This work presents the determination of the corrosion characteristics of CrCoNi (medium entropy alloy) and CrMnFeCoNi (high entropy alloy) in 0.1 M NaCl and 0.1 M H2SO4. The morphology and chemical composition of the oxide layers formed on CrCoNi and CrMnFeCoNi were comparatively analyzed by scanning Kelvin probe microscopy (SKPFM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and supported with chemical analysis by means of inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) and X-Ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The analysis of the 3p core level peaks showed that the oxide layer (native and after anodic passivation) on CrCoNi consisted mainly of Cr oxides, while the oxide layer on CrMnFeCoNi was primarily composed of a mixture of Cr and Fe oxides. In addition, XPS was utilized to assess the oxide layer thicknesses. These results were compared to the thicknesses obtained by means of electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), with both approaches yielding values up to about 4 nm depending on the electrolyte and the alloy. Cyclic polarization measurements indicated superior corrosion resistance of CrCoNi in both aqueous environments compared to CrMnFeCoNi, as well as to AISI 304 stainless steel.
The reliable characterization of subsurface contamination of spatially extended contaminated sites is a challenging task, especially with an unknown history of land use. Conventional technologies often fail due to temporal and financial constraints and thus hinder the redevelopment of abandoned areas in particular. Here we compare two site screening techniques that can be applied quickly at relatively low cost, namely Direct Push (DP)-based groundwater sampling and tree core sampling. The effectiveness of both methods is compared for a rural megasite contaminated with chlorinated hydrocarbons. Unexpected pollution hot spots could be identified using both of these methods, while tree coring even enabled the delineation of the contaminant plume flowing into an adjacent wetland inaccessible for DP units. Both methods showed a good agreement in revealing the spatial pattern of the contamination. The correlation between groundwater concentrations and equivalent concentrations in wood was linear and highly significant for trichloroethene. Correlation was less obvious for its metabolite cis-dichloroethene, but still significant. As outcome of our study we recommend tree coring and for initial screening in combination with a DP sampling to retrieve quantitative data on groundwater pollutants in order to assess the contamination situation of a non- or only partly investigated site. The subsequent placement of monitoring wells for long-term monitoring of contamination levels is recommended. A combination of methods would achieve more relevant information at comparable or possibly even lower efforts in comparison to a conventional site investigation.
Ionizing radiation damage to DNA plays a fundamental role in cancer therapy. X-ray photoelectron-spectroscopy (XPS) allows simultaneous irradiation and damage monitoring. Although water radiolysis is essential for radiation damage, all previous XPS studies were performed in vacuum. Here we present near-ambient-pressure XPS xperiments to directly measure DNA damage under water atmosphere. They permit in-situ monitoring of the effects of radicals on fully hydrated double-stranded DNA. The results allow us to distinguish direct damage, by photons and secondary low-energy electrons (LEE), from damage by hydroxyl radicals or hydration induced modifications of damage pathways. The exposure of dry DNA to x-rays leads to strand-breaks at the sugar-phosphate backbone, while deoxyribose and nucleobases are less affected. In contrast, a strong increase of DNA damage is observed in water, where OH-radicals are produced. In consequence, base damage and base release become predominant, even though the number of strand-breaks increases further.