Title: spectator hole
Long Title: IUPAC Gold Book - spectator hole
DOI: 10.1351/goldbook.09356
Status: current

Definition
Electronic configuration of an atom containing an electronic vacancy that can be present during processes, such as Auger electron and X-ray photoelectron emission, but is not created or destroyed in the process.

Related Term
- X-ray photoelectron emission: https://goldbook.iupac.org//terms/view/09348

Source
- PAC, 2020, 92, 1781. 'Glossary of methods and terms used in surface chemical analysis (IUPAC Recommendations 2020)' on page 1830 (https://doi.org/10.1515/pac-2019-0404)

Other Outputs
- html: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/09356/html
- json: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/09356/json
- xml: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/09356/xml

Citation: Citation: 'spectator hole' in IUPAC Compendium of Chemical Terminology, 5th ed. International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry; 2025. Online version 5.0.0, 2025. 10.1351/goldbook.09356
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Accessed: 2026-04-20T15:19:48+00:00