Graphene and XPS

Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology(NIST), ELETTRA(Italy) and the Technical University of Munich(Germany) found that graphene can make the use of XPS(X-ray photo electron spectroscopy) cheaper and simpler.

XPS is an accurate and informative surface analysis technology, but it is usually considered by researchers to be unsuitable for use because its operation is expensive and requires high vacuum operation-making it problematic to analyze liquid and gaseous materials. The working principle of XPS is based on X-ray bombardment of the surface. The atoms on the surface of the material absorb X-ray energy and retransmit the energy as photo electrons, which are accepted by the receiver and produce images.

In order to solve the problem of working in a pressurized environment, the window material needs to be almost transparent to X-rays and photo electrons, but it can not pass through gases and liquids, so the material needs to be strong enough to withstand great pressure. Scientists turned their eyes to graphene and explored it as a window material to separate the atmospheric pressure liquid compartment of its test station from the high vacuum conditions in the electronic spectrometer.

The results show that enough X-rays and photo electrons pass through the graphene window to produce high-quality XPS data analyzed from liquid and gas samples. Researchers believe the findings could benefit many scientists. Such a simple material replacement design can achieve XPS ideal working ability, as well as potential low cost.

Some challenges remain, such as the need to improve openings around graphene, and the possibility that X-rays will gradually degrade monolayer graphene tablets.

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