Embedding of noble metal nanoclusters into polymers is introduced as a novel method with a strong potential to follow the polymer glass transition at the surface.@footnote 1@ X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) in combination with transmission electron microscopy (TEM) was used to characterize the formation of nanoclusters during the noble metals (Au and Cu) deposition onto different polymers and to study the embedding of nanoclusters into polymers. The size of the metallic clusters and an embedding depth were determined using a mathematical correction of the XPS intensity.@footnote 2@ This procedure is based on the measurement of the ratio of two XPS lines of the same metal with different binding energies and their attenuation length. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) has been applied to study the embedding of Cu and Au nanoclusters into polycarbonate, nylon as well as polystyrene films with different molecular weight by annealing the polymer films above the glass transition temperature Tg . It is shown that the temperature dependence of the embedding depth is clearly correlated to the glass-transition temperature of the polymer. Our investigations strongly support a depression of Tg at the surface compared with that of the polymer bulk. This supports the view that the molecular motion is enhanced near the surface due to the additional degrees of freedom. The enhancement of the surface glass transition temperature was observed due to Ar ion treatment of the polymers. The changes of Tg , which are qualitatively related to cross-linking, depend on the ion fluencies in the range of 10E13 - 10E14 cm@super -2@ . @FootnoteText@ @footnote 1@V. Zaporojtchenko, T. Struskus, J. Erichsen, F. Faupel, Macromolecules 34(5) (2001) 1125. @footnote 2@V. Zaporojtchenko, K. Behnke, T. Struskus, F. Faupel, Surf. Interface Anal. 30 (2000) 439.