X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS)

X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) is a surface‐sensitive laboratory technique exploited to obtain elemental analysis, chemical state information, and quantitative composition of materials of historical interest in a nondestructive way. The sample has to be stable in ultra‐high vacuum, and limitation on the size requires sometimes an appropriate sampling strategy before XPS analysis. The basics of the technique and some examples of its application to pottery, glass, metals, alloys, and cellulose materials are provided in this brief review, aiming to highlight the possible applications of XPS in the analysis of historical materials, in ascertaining the origin of the degradation of artifacts in order to tailor proper conservation actions.