Sputter-induced chemical transformation in oxoanions by combination of C(60)(+) and Ar(+) ion beams analyzed with X-ray photoelectron spectrometry.

The change of the chemical states of inorganic oxoanion salts by low-energy single atomic projectiles (0.5 kV Ar+), high-energy cluster ion beams (10 kV C-60(+)), and mixed 0.2 kV Ar+ and 10 kV C-60(+) are presented. Although the sputtering conditions of C-60(+) and C-60(+)-Ar+ mixed sputtering used in this work provide more accurate results for profiling organic films than Ar+ sputtering, the difference in profiling inorganic materials is not as dramatic. For inert oxoanions like carbonate and phosphate, both Ar+ and C-60(+) sputtering cause unappreciable sputter-induced chemical transformation to the remaining surface. For reactive oxoanions like nitrate, perchlorate, chlorate, and chlorite, although C-60(+) yields slightly better results than Ar+ sputtering due to the thinner disturbed layer, all the ion beams altered the chemical state significantly. As a result, none of these techniques can be used to provide true information below the surface. For intermediate oxoanions like nitrite and thio-S in thiosulfate, C-60(+) yields slightly better results than Ar+ sputtering. However, for sulfonate and the core-S in thiosulfate, C-60(+) causes more sputter-induced chemical transformation than Ar+ sputtering.