XPS study of coal liquefaction catalysts and catalyst impregnated coal

Abstract X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) has been used to study the surface characteristics of six coal liquefaction catalysts and a catalyst impregnated Illinois #6 coal sample. The surface composition was determined and compared with the composition from the bulk analysis. Sputtering with Ar + ions followed by XPS depth profiling analysis has also been carried out to determine elemental distributions as a function of depth from the surface.