An XPS study of Mg overlayers on a Mo(100) surface

Abstract Ultra-thin Mg films supported on a Mo(100) surface have been studied using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. It is shown that the Mg(2p) and Mg(1s) binding energies decrease with an increase in Mg overlayer coverages. In addition, the Mg(2p) binding energy for a monolayer Mg film on a Mo(100) surface is higher than that of a single-crystal Mg(0001) surface. These differences in the core-level binding energies of the atoms in a monolayer, a multilayer and a single-crystal surface layer are explained in terms of the coordination number and the charge transfer at the Mg/Mo interfaces.