Understanding the electronic structure of IrO₂ using hard-X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and density-functional theory

The electronic structure of IrO₂ has been investigated using hard x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and density-functional theory. Excellent agreement is observed between theory and experiment. We show that the electronic structure of IrO₂ involves crystal field splitting of the iridium 5d orbitals in a distorted octahedral field. The behavior of IrO₂ closely follows the theoretical predictions of Goodenough for conductive rutile-structured oxides [J. B. Goodenough, J. Solid State Chem. 3, 490 (1971)]. Strong satellites associated with the core lines are ascribed to final state screening effects. A simple plasmon model for the satellites applicable to many other metallic oxides appears to be not valid for IrO₂.