X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy Maps of Laser-Patterned Reduced Graphene Oxide

The data are maps of the Carbon 1s (C1s), Oxygen 1s (O1s) and Carbon KLL (CKLL) spectra from X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) collected over a 4mm x 5mm area of a deposited graphene/graphite oxide (GO) layer patterned using a laser to induce thermal reduction of the GO to reduced-GO (rGO). The XPS maps were used to directly observe the change in relative carbon and oxygen content in the patterned and unpatterned areas, and relate this directly to changes in the hybridisation of the carbon atoms in the surface (i.e. chanegs from sp3 to sp2 carbon). The CKLL maps were processed to extract what the authors call Multivariate Auger Feature Images (MAFI images) that map this change in carbon hybridisation on the surface. This is a new method of directly observing changes in carbon chemistry that are otherwise very subtle and difficult to observe using traditional XPS imaging.