Electronic structure of layered titanate Nd2Ti2O7

The electronic structure of the binary titanate Nd2Ti2O7 has been studied by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Spectral features of the valence band and all constituent element core levels have been considered. The Auger parameters of titanium and oxygen in Nd2Ti2O7 are determined as αTi = 873.5 and αO = 1042.2 eV. Chemical bonding effects have been discussed with the binding energies differences ΔTi = (BE O 1s – BE Ti 2p3/2) = 71.5 eV and ΔNd = (BE Nd 3d5/2 – BE O 1s) = 452.5 eV as key parameters in comparison with those in other titanium- and neodymium-bearing oxides.