X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy studies the cation valencies and distributions in crednerite-Cu1.1Mn0.9O2 thin films

• The chemical state of Cu is monovalent.
• The Mn cations coexist Mn2+, Mn3+, and Mn4+.
• The cation distribution is Cu1.1+[Mn0.24–0.272+Mn0.53–0.543+Mn0.20–0.224+]0.9O2.

In this study, the cation valencies and distributions in crednerite-Cu1.1Mn0.9O2 thin films are studied. The lattice parameters of the sol–gel-derived crednerite-Cu1.1Mn0.9O2 thin films were a = 0.55759 nm, b = 0.28754 nm, c = 0.58847 nm, and β = 104.18°. The binding energies of the Cu-2p spectrum were 932.3 ± 0.2 eV (2p3/2) and 952.3 ± 0.2 eV (2p1/2), which represent the Cu+ in the thin films. Moreover, three binding energies at 639.8 ± 0.2 eV, 641.1 ± 0.2 eV, and 643.4 ± 0.2 eV were found in the Mn-2p spectrum. The binding energies of the Mn-3p spectrum were 47.3 ± 0.2 eV, 48.0 ± 0.2 eV, and 49.9 ± 0.2 eV for the crednerite-Cu1.1Mn0.9O2 thin films, which reveal that the thin films have Mn2+, Mn3+, and Mn4+ cations. Additionally, the cation distributions in the thin films were Cu1.1+[Mn0.24–0.272+Mn0.53–0.543+Mn0.20–0.224+]0.9O2 from the X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy.