This book gives a representative survey of the state of the art of research on gas-surface interactions. It provides an overview of the current understanding of gas surface dynamics and, in particular, of the reactive and non-reactive processes of atoms and small molecules at surfaces. Leading scientists in the field, both from the theoretical and the experimental sides, write in this book about their most recent advances. Surface science grew as an interdisciplinary research area over the last decades, mostly because of new experimental technologies (ultra-high vacuum, for instance), as well as because of a novel paradigm, the ‘surface science’ approach. The book describes the second transformation which is now taking place pushed by the availability of powerful quantum-mechanical theoretical methods implemented numerically. In the book, experiment and theory progress hand in hand with an unprecedented degree of accuracy and control. The book presents how modern surface science targets the atomic-level understanding of physical and chemical processes at surfaces, with particular emphasis on dynamical aspects. This book is a reference in the field.

While much of traditional surface science has been concerned with equilibrium properties and simple kinetics, there is a growing effort in the area of dynamical processes at surfaces. This book draws together a series of chapters written by acknowledged experts in the field, which describe progress in a range of specific topics. The emphasis is on chemical reaction dynamics, including both theoretical and experimental approaches and covering work on low index single crystal surfaces, on stepped surfaces and on supported metal clusters. Other processes, such as surface diffusion are also addressed. Further chapters discuss dynamical processes in electronically-induced desorption, and in surface diffusion on semiconductors and metals. - Presents considerable advances in surface science field - Collection of expert reviews in surface dynamics

Proceedings of the Seventeenth Jerusalem Symposium on Quantum Chemistry and Biochemistry, Jerusalem, Israel, April 30-May 3, 1984

The present volume is concerned with two of the central questions of chemical dynamics. What do we know about the energies of interaction of atoms and molecules with each other and with solid surfaces? How can such interaction energies be used to understand and make quantitative predictions about dynamical processes like scattering, energy transfer, and chemical reactions? It is becoming clearly recognized that the computer is leading to rapid progress in answering these questions. The computer allows probing dynamical mechanisms in fine detail and often allows us to answer questions that cannot be addressed with current experimental techniques. As we enter the 1980's, not only are more powerful and faster computers being used, but techniques and methods have been honed to a state where exciting and reliable data are being generated on a variety of systems at an unprecedented pace. The present volume presents a collection of work that illustrates the capabilities and some of the successes of this kind of computer-assisted research. In a 1978 Chemical Society Report, Frey and Walsh pointed out that "it is extremely doubtful if a calculated energy of activation for any unimolecular decomposition can replace an experimental deter mination. " However they also recorded that they "believe[d] that some of the elaborate calculations being performed at present do suggest that we may be approaching a time when a choice between reaction mechanisms will be helped by such [computational] work.