I have been doing xps for my polyoxovanadate cluster after 15 cycles of battery (Li-ion). But the vanadium peaks are not obtained properly. What will be the reason? Is there anything to do with the sample preparation?
Before doing XPS, the sample needs to be cleaned properly. If you are using EC and DMC as the electrolyte, then after disassembling the cell, you have to clean the sample with DMC. You can use ultrasonication for 5-10 minutes. This will remove the artifacts coming in the XPS data. This procedure has to be done inside the glovebox.
Is it related to the surface contamination or peak shifting or intensity problem ? or you cant see any peaks at all ? What about C 1s, did you observe it ?