In this book the author presents an up-to-date summary of existing information on the structure, electronic properties, chemistry and catalytic properties of transition metal oxides.The subjects covered in the book can be divided into three sections. The first (chapters 1 to 3) covers the structural, physical, magnetic, and electronic properties of transition metal oxides. Although the emphasis is on surface properties, relevant bulk properties are also discussed. The second section (chapters 4 to 7) covers surface chemical properties. It includes topics that describe the importance of surface coordinative unsaturation in adsorption, the formation of surface acidity and the role of acidity in determining surface chemical properties, the nature and reactivities of adsorbed oxygen, and the surface chemistry in the reduction of oxides. The third section (chapters 8 to 14) is on the catalytic properties. Various catalytic reactions including decomposition, hydrogenation, isomerization, metathesis, selective oxidation, and reactions involving carbon oxides are discussed. Emphasis is placed more on reaction mechanisms and the role of catalysts than on kinetics and processes. Chapters on the preparation of oxide catalysts and on photo-assisted processes are also included. Whenever appropriate, relationships between various topics are indicated.Written for surface physicists, chemists, and catalytic engineers, the book will serve as a useful source of information for investigators and as a comprehensive overview of the subject for graduate students.

Publisher Description

This book presents the basics and characterization of defects at oxide surfaces. It provides a state-of-the-art review of the field, containing information to the various types of surface defects, describes analytical methods to study defects, their chemical activity and the catalytic reactivity of oxides. Numerical simulations of defective structures complete the picture developed. Defects on planar surfaces form the focus of much of the book, although the investigation of powder samples also form an important part. The experimental study of planar surfaces opens the possibility of applying the large armoury of techniques that have been developed over the last half-century to study surfaces in ultra-high vacuum. This enables the acquisition of atomic level data under well-controlled conditions, providing a stringent test of theoretical methods. The latter can then be more reliably applied to systems such as nanoparticles for which accurate methods of characterization of structure and electronic properties have yet to be developed. The book gives guidance to tailor oxide surfaces by controlling the nature and concentration of defects. The importance of defects in the physics and chemistry of metal oxide surfaces is presented in this book together with the prominent role of oxides in common life. The book contains contributions from leaders in the field. It serves as a reference for experts and beginners in the field.

The book is a multi-author survey (in 15 chapters) of the current state of knowledge and recent developments in our understanding of oxide surfaces. The author list includes most of the acknowledged world experts in this field. The material covered includes fundamental theory and experimental studies of the geometrical, vibrational and electronic structure of such surfaces, but with a special emphasis on the chemical properties and associated reactivity. The main focus is on metal oxides but coverage extends from 'simple' rocksalt materials such as MgO through to complex transition metal oxides with different valencies.

Mots-clés de l'auteur: Scanning Tunneling Microscopy and Spectroscopy ; Inelastic Tunneling Spectroscopy ; TiO2 ; Surface Engineering ; Water Dissociation ; Catalysis.