Core level binding energy shifts in interfaces between 4d and alkali metals

High resolution core level photoemission measurements are reported of the binding energy shifts of the 3d core level of Mo, Rh and Pd atoms in interfaces between these 4d metals and alkali metals. The core level binding energies of the interface 4d atoms are found to be almost equal to those of the clean surface atoms for Mo and Rh. For Pd a large alkali induced shift towards higher binding energy is found. The implications of these results for the information derivable from core level binding energy shifts in metallic interfaces are discussed and it is demonstrated that the present results are explained by established total energy based models for core level binding energy shifts in metallic systems.