In situ x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) was utilized to identify the chemical state of silver in a range of silver oxide thin films obtained by co-deposition of silver and atomic oxygen. A highly oxidized silver species was observed at an unexpectedly low Ag 3d5/2 binding energy (BE) of 366.8 eV with an associated broad satellite at 368.2 eV; this species was assigned as Ag(III). It was found to be highly unstable in vacuum, but could be regenerated by further exposure to atomic oxygen. Both BE shifts and intensity changes of the O 1s peak were found to correlate with changes in the silver oxidation state. Theoretical calculations of the expected XPS of high spin Ag(III) provide insight into the significance of satellite structure and shake features in the Ag 3d spectra.
Revised: August 18, 2014 |
Published: December 16, 2010
Citation
Kaspar T.C., T.C. Droubay, S.A. Chambers, and P.S. Bagus. 2010.Spectroscopic evidence for Ag(III) in highly oxidized silver films by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy.Journal of Physical Chemistry C 114, no. 49:21562–21571.PNNL-SA-74545.doi:10.1021/jp107914e