Photoelectron spectroscopy using synchrotron radiation and ab-initio electronic structure calculations were used in order to describe the fine structure of the valence band in the Sn/Ni(111) system. The characteristic contributions of each metal in the valence band photoemission spectra obtained with a photon energy of 80 eV and their changes upon the formation of the (root 3 x root 3)R30 degrees Sn/Ni(111) surface alloy were also born out in the calculated density-of-states curves in fair agreement with the experiments. The Sn-Ni interaction leads to a considerable broadening of the valence band width at the bimetallic surfaces. (C) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.