Sonakshi Saini

1 Introduction Chemical state analysis using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) is performed by fitting the peaks that are superimposed on the inelastically scattered background signal [1]. These peaks may be as simple as an isolated symmetric distribution of data points [2, 3] or as complex as an irregular sequence of shapes characteristic of a specific chemical state for an atom [3-5].

Introduction Click to copy section linkSection link copied! Hydrogen is a sustainable alternative to fossil fuels due to its versatility as an energy carrier for transportation and grid storage. (1−6) Electrolysis of water to form hydrogen and oxygen can be used to produce hydrogen with renewable electricity. (7−10) While electrolysis is a well-known process, there are several limitations hindering efficient and cost-effective hydrogen production.

Control over the morphology and structure of metals during electrodeposition is necessary for a variety of applications. For instance, to deposit copper with low sheet resistance for integrated circuits, careful consideration is given to the orientation and microstructure of electroplated copper. (1) Coatings for corrosion protection also heavily rely on the morphology and structure of the electrodeposited films to achieve desired traits like hydrophobicity and resilience.