{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,9]],"date-time":"2026-04-09T14:23:20Z","timestamp":1775744600368,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":11,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"4","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2024,11,28]],"date-time":"2024-11-28T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1732752000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100001871","name":"FCT (Portugal)\u2014Funda\u00e7\u00e3o para a Ci\u00eancia e a Tecnologia, I.P.","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["UIDB\/04565\/2020"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["UIDB\/04565\/2020"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100001871","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100001871","name":"FCT (Portugal)\u2014Funda\u00e7\u00e3o para a Ci\u00eancia e a Tecnologia, I.P.","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["UIDP\/04565\/2020"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["UIDP\/04565\/2020"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100001871","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100001871","name":"FCT (Portugal)\u2014Funda\u00e7\u00e3o para a Ci\u00eancia e a Tecnologia, I.P.","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["LA\/P\/0140\/2020"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["LA\/P\/0140\/2020"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100001871","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Surfaces"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Many interesting materials in a broad range of applications have in their composition the coexistence of zinc and iron. Their characterization by XPS should identify and quantify both elements. The most intense regions for these elements Zn 2p and Fe 2p are, therefore, used to accomplish that purpose. By using sphalerite as an example of a material where Zn and Fe may coexist and using XPS with two different X radiation sources to study them, it is demonstrated that the Fe 2p region, when the iron is the minor component, may be seriously affected by the Auger Zn L3M1M23 structure. The sphalerite (Zn1\u2212xFexS) here studied has x \u2248 0 and is a good example to show how an XPS spectrum obtained with the X-ray Al K\u03b1, the most used radiation in monochromatic equipment, leads to a wrong assignment of the structures existing in the binding energy region of Fe 2p. The simultaneous use of Mg K\u03b1 radiation showed that the Fe 2p is below the XPS detection in this specific sample of sphalerite. Its attested absence reveals that the structure detected, when using Al K\u03b1 in the \u201cFe 2p\u201d region, is assigned to a zinc Auger multiple peak and not to the expected 2p photoelectron doublet peak of iron.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/surfaces7040066","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,11,28]],"date-time":"2024-11-28T08:15:54Z","timestamp":1732781754000},"page":"1003-1007","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":2,"title":["X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy of Compounds Simultaneously Containing Zinc and Iron: Alert on Fe 2p Region"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"7","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6784-6540","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ana Maria","family":"Ferraria","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"BSIRG, Institute for Bioengineering and Biosciences, Institute for Health and Bioeconomy, Chemical Engineering Department, Instituto Superior T\u00e9cnico, Universidade de Lisboa, 1049-001 Lisbon, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3131-4219","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ana Maria Botelho","family":"do Rego","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"BSIRG, Institute for Bioengineering and Biosciences, Institute for Health and Bioeconomy, Chemical Engineering Department, Instituto Superior T\u00e9cnico, Universidade de Lisboa, 1049-001 Lisbon, Portugal"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,11,28]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","unstructured":"Briggs, D., and Grant, J.T. (2003). Surface Analysis by Auger and X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy, IMPublications and SurfaceSpectra Limited."},{"key":"ref_2","first-page":"836","article-title":"Recent research and progress of biodegradable zinc alloys and composites for biomedical applications: Biomechanical and biocorrosion perspectives","volume":"6","author":"Kabir","year":"2021","journal-title":"Bioact. Mater."},{"key":"ref_3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"228294","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jpowsour.2020.228294","article-title":"Mesoporous Ni-Zn-Fe layered double hydroxide as an efficient binder-free electrode active material for high-performance supercapacitors","volume":"466","author":"Elgendy","year":"2020","journal-title":"J. Power Sources"},{"key":"ref_4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1016\/S0301-7516(97)00035-5","article-title":"Sulphide mineral surfaces: Theory and experiment","volume":"51","author":"Vaughan","year":"1997","journal-title":"Int. J. Miner. Process."},{"key":"ref_5","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"352","DOI":"10.1016\/j.susc.2006.10.001","article-title":"Surface structure of sphalerite studied by medium energy ion scattering and XPS","volume":"601","author":"Harmer","year":"2007","journal-title":"Surf. Sci."},{"key":"ref_6","unstructured":"(2024, September 30). NIST X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy Database, NIST Standard Reference Database Number 20, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD, 20899. Available online: https:\/\/doi.org\/10.18434\/T4T88K."},{"key":"ref_7","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"317","DOI":"10.1016\/S0092-640X(73)80005-1","article-title":"Auger catalog calculated transition energies listed by energy and element","volume":"5","author":"Goghlan","year":"1973","journal-title":"At. Data Nucl. 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Handbook of X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy: A Reference Book of Standard Spectra for Identification and Interpretation of XPS Data, Physical Electronics Division, Perkin-Elmer Corporation."},{"key":"ref_10","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1988","DOI":"10.1016\/j.vacuum.2012.05.031","article-title":"X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy: Silver salts revisited","volume":"86","author":"Ferraria","year":"2012","journal-title":"Vacuum"},{"key":"ref_11","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"106409","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ultsonch.2023.106409","article-title":"Fe3O4@MIL-100(Fe) modified ZnS nanoparticles with enhanced sonocatalytic degradation of tetracycline antibiotic in water","volume":"95","author":"Zhang","year":"2023","journal-title":"Ultrason. Sonochem."}],"container-title":["Surfaces"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2571-9637\/7\/4\/66\/pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,10]],"date-time":"2025-10-10T16:41:19Z","timestamp":1760114479000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2571-9637\/7\/4\/66"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2024,11,28]]},"references-count":11,"journal-issue":{"issue":"4","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,12]]}},"alternative-id":["surfaces7040066"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/surfaces7040066","relation":{},"ISSN":["2571-9637"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2571-9637","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2024,11,28]]}}}