Photoelectron emission studies of cleaved and excimer laser irradiated single-crystal surfaces of NaNO 3 and NaNO 2

• Published in: Surface science Vol. 442; no. 3; pp. 413 - 419
• Main Authors: Bandis, C., Scudiero, L., Langford, S.C., Dickinson, J.T.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier B.V 1999
• Subjects: Radiation damage; Sodium nitrate; Surface photochemistry; Ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy; X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy; Surface photochemistry; Sodium nitrate; Ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy; Radiation damage; X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy
• ISSN: 0039-6028; 1879-2758
• DOI: 10.1016/S0039-6028(99)00953-X

Inorganic nitrates are susceptible to radiation damage, including ultraviolet (UV) laser irradiation. We present a monochromatized X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and He II (40.8 eV) ultraviolet photoemission spectroscopy (UPS) study of melt-grown single-crystal NaNO 3 and NaNO 2 cleaved and excimer laser irradiated surfaces. Our results show that the changes observed in the NaNO 3 spectra due to both X-ray and UV excimer laser irradiation are consistent with decomposition initiated by the π→π ∗ transition in the NO − 3 anion. Furthermore, we find very similar decomposition products for both X-ray and UV excimer laser irradiated surfaces, which mainly include sodium nitrite and sodium peroxide. Finally, direct comparison of our experimental UPS and XPS valence-band electron-energy distributions with the calculated total density of states shows good agreement between theory and experiment for both NaNO 3 and NaNO 2.