Studies of free radicals on surfaces are of interest for several
reasons: the spontaneous or stimulated formation of radicals from
adsorbed molecules may represent one possible mechanism for
heterogeneous catalysis. In some cases the radicals are ionic,
indicating that primary oxidation and reduction reactions occur.
Radicals can also be used as probes to investigate diffusion processes
on catalytic surfaces. The first direct observations were made more than
30 years ago, but detailed studies of structure, reactions and mobility
have only recently become feasible with the advent of powerful
spectroscopic techniques, to a great extent developed and used by the
contributors to this volume.
This comprehensive review describes new trends in the field. Leading
experts write about the nature of surface active sites, methods to
identify them, and the radicals formed from adsorbed molecules
interacting with the surface. The emphasis is on the fundamentals
covering thermal, photostimulated and radiation induced reactions as
well as diffusion processes. This provides the necessary background for
technological applications.
This book will be useful to those who are interested in surface
chemistry, heterogeneous catalysis as well as those who want to study
reactive intermediates in chemical reactions. It is also of interest to
scientists in photo and radiation physics and chemistry.
