Sulfur K-edge x-ray-absorption study of the charge transfer upon lithium intercalation into titanium disulfide

Sulfur K-edge x-ray-absorption spectra have been recorded for lithium intercalated titanium disulfides LixTiS2. The near-edge features up to 30 eV above threshold are interpreted in the framework of full multiple-scattering theory. We show that the electrons transferred from intercalated lithium atoms are not only located on Ti 3d orbitals, as previously assumed, but also on the S 3p states. For comparison, we present the S p-projected density of states derived from linear muffin-tin-orbital band structure calculations. An overall agreement between measurement and theory is very well achieved.