Progress in the measurement and modeling of adsorbed
layers
L.W. Bruch, R.D. Diehl and J.A. Venables
Rev. Mod. Phys. (2007) in press
Abstract
This review describes progress in the field of physisorption. Significant advances in the knowledge of
microscopic structures and interactions of weakly bound adsorbates are reviewed, including the first
studies for the adsorption sites of rare gases on flat metal surfaces and at surface steps, the structures
of higher-order commensurate solids, collective excitations in rare-gas monolayers, molecular
orientations and growth processes in alkane films, and adsorbate diffusion. The development and
improvement of experimental techniques are reviewed, including high-resolution thermal desorption
spectroscopy and ellipsometry for studying thermodynamics; low-temperature scanning tunneling
microscopy, very low current electron diffraction, and surface x-ray diffraction for studying structures;
inelastic atom scattering for studying collective excitations; quasielastic helium atom and neutron
scattering and laser techniques for studying diffusion; and the quartz crystal microbalance for studying
interfacial friction. The present state of knowledge of the physical adsorption potentials and the role
of the van der Waals interaction are discussed in the context of the widespread use of
density-functional theory. Experimental and theoretical results for many adsorption systems are
described and tabulated; a few case studies are presented in which a unified picture has (nearly) been
achieved by the synthesis of many contributions. Some new applications of physisorption are also
presented.
Latest version of this document: 14th October 2007.