Surface materials: the frontier of solid state chemistry

Atomic scale studies of surfaces over the past 30 years greatly increased our knowledge of the chemical, mechanical, electrical, magnetic, and optical properties of surfaces. As a result, new technologies developed using these properties of surfaces, creating wealth, new scientific knowledge, and the need for new surface instrumentation with ever increasing time resolution, spatial and energy resolution. Over 60 techniques have been developed, most recently, those that can scrutinize, on the molecular level, the buried interfaces, solid–high pressure gas, solid–liquid, and solid–solid. The surface may be treated as a separate phase with different structure, composition and electronic properties. The new concepts of molecular surface science that were discovered include clean surface reconstruction, adsorbate induced restructuring, the high mobility of surface atoms at high pressures, and the unique importance of surface defects in controlling surface phenomena ranging from adsorption to heterogeneous catalysis. Future directions include studies of electrode surface under external potential conditions, polymer surfaces, studies of biomaterials, and studies of nanoclusters produced by chemical means or by electron beam lithography.