Adsorption on Surfaces

Abstract

The study of adsorption is of central importance in the field of surface science. Adsorption processes are involved in almost all technological processes in which surfaces play a crucial role. Often they are an important step in the preparation of a device as, e.g., in the growth of a semiconductor device. But adsorption can also be of significant importance in industrially relevant processes. The most prominent example is heterogeneous catalysis since usually the reactants have to adsorb on the catalyst before they can react. But of course, also from a fundamental point of view the physical and chemical factors determining adsorption processes are most interesting. In this chapter I will first introduce the basic quantities necessary to describe adsorption. After classifying the different types of adsorption systems the necessary theoretical tools to treat these systems will be addressed. Furthermore, reactivity concepts will be discussed and their usefulness will be demonstrated in some case studies.