The effects of storage and exposure to X-rays on the surface chemistry of electrochemically prepared polypyrrole (PPy) doped with dodecylbenzene sulfonic acid (DBSA) were investigated using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). For irradiation, different photon sources (lab source and synchrotron radiation) and energies (1.4-9 keV) were chosen. This covers an energy range of relevance for many X-ray based investigations (e.g. XPS or X-ray absorption spectroscopy) of PPy[DBSA], PPy-metal interfaces, and transition metals embedded into PPy. The DBSA doping level and the concentration ratio of sulfonate species are discussed as a function of storage and irradiation times, and links between both ageing parameters are given. New sulfur species are found to emerge upon repeated soft X-ray irradiation. Severe changes in the polaron/bipolaron structure of PPy[DBSA] during exposure to high energy (several keV) synchrotron radiation are observed, and the results are discussed in the light of photon absorption and photoelectron generation in the polymer surface. (c) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.