The Practical Dos and Don'ts of Using XPS to Qualify and Quantify Powder Catalysts

The practical aspects of XPS analysis in the application for powder catalysts, including also nanopowders and nanoparticles, are revealed and discussed. Most of these features are applicable also to the composites with a mixture of catalytic powders in ceramic matrix. All the steps of typical XPS characterization are briefly discussed: various methods of sample preparation and mounting, spectra acquisition, processing, interpretation, and elemental quantification. This discussion is aimed at the beginners in XPS, trying to evidence the practical dos and don'ts in experimental procedures and data processing. The procedures of spectra processing and interpretation are illustrated by experimental examples. Following the recommendations presented in this chapter, it is possible to conduct a reliable XPS investigation of surface chemical composition before and after catalytic reactions or other sample treatments.