What is ISO 19318 about?
ISO 19318 specifies the minimum amount of information spectroscopy to be reported with the analytical results to describe the methods of charge control and charge correction in measurements of core-level binding energies for insulating specimens by X‑ray photoelectron.
ISO 19318 also provides methods for charge control and for charge correction in the measurement of binding energies.
Who is ISO 19318 for?
ISO 19318 on X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy is applicable for:
- Testing laboratories
- Chemical analytical tool manufacturers
- Chemist
Why should you use ISO 19318?
ISO 19318 specifies X‑ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) that is widely used for the characterization of surfaces of materials. Elements in the test specimen (with the exception of hydrogen and helium) are identified from comparisons of the binding energies of their core levels, determined from measured photoelectron spectra, with tabulations of these binding energies for the various elements.
The surface potential of an insulating specimen will change during an XPS measurement. It is then difficult to determine binding energies with the accuracy needed for chemical-state determination. ISO 19318 specifies methods to deal with this problem.
The particular charge-control method that is chosen in practice depends on the type of specimen (e.g., powder, thin-film, or thick specimen), the nature of the instrumentation, the size of the specimen, and the extent to which the specimen surface might be modified by a particular procedure.
ISO 19318 specifies the information to be provided to document the method of charge control during data acquisition or the method of charge correction during data analysis, that is useful for many applications.
ISO 19318 identifies information on methods of charge control or charge correction, or both, to be included in reports of XPS measurements (e.g., from an analyst to a customer or in publications) to ensure that measurements on similar materials are meaningfully compared. That enables published binding energies to be used with confidence by other analysts and will lead to the inclusion of more reliable data in XPS databases.
What’s changed since the last update?
BS ISO 19318:2021 supersedes BS ISO 19318:2004, which is withdrawn.
The main changes BS ISO 19318:2021 compared to the BS ISO 19318:2004 are as follows:
- Clause 7 has been reorganized and 7.7 (effectiveness of charge control) has been updated
- Up-to-date bibliographical references have been added throughout the document

