Monitoring fibre surfaces with XPS in papermaking processes

Recent instrumental advances have vastly improved the analysis power of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), which has been widely used in applied surface research for decades. In this presentation a set of XPS analysis methods well suited for problems and analytical needs encountered in paper-making technology is presented. The emphasis will be on analysis of pulps and non-coated papers. Examples given describe the use of XPS in quantification of sur face lignin and extractives; an alternative approach for evaluating elemental surface distributions via the Tougaard background analysis is also presented. The experimental work and interpretations presented are based on more than two thousand XPS analyses performed at Helsinki University of Technology during 1996-2000. With strictly standardised experimental setup, state-of-the-art instrumentation and a proper combination of analysis methods XPS can yield valuable and consistent information on surface properties of natural fibers.