Ag Foil by XPS

XPS data have been obtained from a polycrystalline Ag foil supplied by AESAR. Initial data indicates a highly contaminated surface region. The foil was heated to 250° C and then sputtered with a 2 keV beam of Ar+ for 35 min. Ion scattering spectroscopy, angle-resolved Auger electron spectroscopy, and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy data indicate the presence of a small amount of subsurface oxygen which could not be removed by the cleaning procedure used. These spectra will be useful in XPS studies of Ag systems such as alumina-supported silver epoxidation catalysts.