XPS Data: Photoelectrochemical hydrogen evolution using dye-sensitised NiO - Environmental Effects and Photocatalyst Design Considerations

X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) data for the five photocatalysts in this study (PC1-PC5) on mesoporous NiO thin films. XPS data was recorded on a Thermo Scientific K-Alpha instrument. The X-ray source was microfocused monochromatic AlKa, with an energy of 1486.6 eV, voltage = 12 kV, current = 3 mA, and power = 36W (at 400 µm spot size). The emission angle was at zero degrees. Pass energy for the survey regions was 150 eV with a step size of 0.4 eV and high-resolution regions had a pass energy of 40 eV with a step size of 0.1 eV. The samples were mounted on a clean aluminium plater and immobilised using double sided adhesive tape. Spectra were analysed using CasaXPS software (version 2.3.16).