X-ray photoelectron spectra of MgH2

Measurements of X-ray photoemission from magnesium hydride MgH 2 were made in an effort to further the fundamental understanding of the electronic structure of this metal hydride. The polycrystalline MgH 2 was compressed onto a metal holder to provide a smooth solid surface in a dry nitrogen box and then transferred into a ESCA system without exposure to air. Measurements were made immediately after the surface was scrapped in the vacuum. The binding energies of the photoelectrons from Mg 2 s and 2 p states were found to be 88.9 ± 0.2eV, and 50.1 ± 0.2eV, respectively. The valence band spectrum shows an effective base width of approximately 8.8eV, which is in reasonable agreement with the recent band structure calculation for MgH 2 . The photoelectron spectra also display features that can be identified as volume plasmon energy loss of 14.6 ± 0.2eV. The data can be shown to be useful in calculating the average band gap energy (5.80eV) for MgH 2 .