Recommended strategies for quantifying oxygen vacancies with X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy

Oxygen vacancies play a crucial role in shaping the properties of metal oxides for diverse applications such as catalysis, ferroelectricity, magnetism, and superconductivity. Although X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) is a robust tool, accurate quantification of oxygen vacancies remains a challenge. A common mistake in XPS analysis is associating the 531–532 eV feature in O 1s spectra with oxygen vacancies. This is incorrect because a vacant oxygen site does not emit photoelectrons and therefore does not generate a direct XPS spectral feature. To address this issue, we propose three alternative approaches for oxygen vacancy analysis with XPS through indirect features: (1) quantifying cation valence state…

• UD
  U.S. Department of Energy
• GA
  Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation

  Award: GBMF9072
• CD
  California Department of Fish and Game

  Award: MU 4591/1-2
• DF
  Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft
• BE
  Basic Energy Sciences

  Award: DE-AC02-05CH11231
• CS
  Chemical Sciences, Geosciences, and Biosciences Division