XPS analysis intrepretation A lab presented me with an elemental composition (mainly metals in char) derived from an XPS analyzer and mentioned that binding energies suggested a list of compounds (various oxides, sulfides and silicates etc). Is there a way to show the composition in terms of these compounds instead of just the elements? Only familiar in bucket chemistry (aka chem eng), these analyzers are a bit of a black box to me even after reading up on them.

Also, is analyzing the surface of a batch of tiny particles &lt;&lt;1 micron somewhat tricky to get reliable results?
This is a bit late, but I'll add an answer anyway. XPS is already a method that can be used for the speciation, so you should be able to differentiate between the different the different oxides of the same metal or metalloid. This is because the work function to eject an electron from a shell of the metal centre is dependent on its chemical environment.