According to Chemistry Page:
Surface chemistry is a discipline about the physical and chemical properties of solid and liquid surfaces or phase interfaces.
Its contents include, for example, the adsorption and segregation of solutes on the solution surface, the infiltration of liquids on solid surfaces, and the adsorption of gases on solid surfaces, which are closely related to the actual production.
Early surface chemistry studies were mainly phenomenological descriptions of related surface or interface properties. Since the 1960s, due to the need for further development of some important technical fields related to solid surfaces, such as solid materials, devices, heterogeneous catalysis, etc., the development of solid theory, the advancement of ultra-high vacuum and electronic detection technology, and Based on the development of technologies and equipment for solid surface analysis on the atomic scale.
Surface chemistry research mainly analyzes the composition, structure, and electron and phonon states of solid surfaces such as metals and semiconductors on the atomic scale to clarify the surface chemical bonds. The nature of the surface and its relationship with surface physics and chemistry have become an important part of emerging science-surface science.
Introduction of Surface Chemistry
Surface chemistry is very important to the chemical industry, and the chemical reactions that take place on the surface of a substance are critical to the operation of industrial production. At the same time, it can help us understand different processes, such as why iron rusts, how fuel cells work, and how catalysts work in cars.
In addition, surface chemical reactions play an important role in many industrial processes, such as the production of artificial fertilizers. Surface chemistry can even explain the odor layer destruction, and the semiconductor industry is also a scientific field related to surface chemistry.
Due to the development of the semiconductor industry, modern surface chemistry began to appear in the 1960s. Gerhard Ertl was one of the first scientists to discover the potential of new technologies. He gradually established the research method of surface chemistry, showing people the full picture of surface reactions produced in different experimental processes.
This science requires advanced vacuum experimental equipment to observe how atomic and molecular levels of metals work and determine what substances are put into the system.
Gerhard Eitel’s observations provided a scientific basis for surface chemical chemistry, and his method was used not only in academic research but also in chemical industry research and development. Gerhard Eitel’s research method, based on his research on the Hubble-Bosch method, uses the Hubble-Bosch method to extract nitrogen from the air, which has important economic significance.
Eitel also researched the oxidation of carbon monoxide on platinum catalysts. This chemical reaction mainly occurs in automobile catalysts to filter exhaust gases generated by automobiles.
Ettel’s Surface Chemistry
Ettel’s work began in the 1960s when vacuum technology was developed due to the rise of the semiconductor industry and modern surface chemistry began to emerge. The chemical reaction on the solid surface is very active, which requires advanced vacuum experimental equipment. Gerhard Eitel was one of the first scientists to discover the potential of new technologies.
This field may seem obscure, but it is not far away. The study of synthetic ammonia is an example. Synthetic ammonia is the main effective ingredient of artificial fertilizers and can be said to be one of the foundations of modern agriculture.
The artificial synthesis of ammonia by hydrogen and nitrogen under the action of a catalyst is called the Haber-Bosch method (the inventor of this method, Fritz Haber, who won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1918).
Traditional catalysts use iron as the active ingredient, and hydrogen and nitrogen react on it, which is where surface chemistry comes in. However, the traditional method has a very slow response step and consumes a lot of energy. With some new research methods, Eitel discovered the bottleneck of this process and fully clarified the seven steps of the reaction of hydrogen and nitrogen on the surface of the iron catalyst.
After understanding the reaction process, as long as the slowest link is “unblocked”, the efficiency of the entire reaction will be greatly improved. This is like dredging a traffic jam on the main road. Eitel’s work has laid the foundation for the development of a new generation of ammonia synthesis catalyst, which has important economic significance.
Ettel ‘s other important contribution was the study of the oxidation of carbon monoxide on platinum catalysts. Carbon monoxide is a toxic gas in the exhaust of automobiles. Before it is discharged to the atmosphere, it must be oxidized to carbon dioxide. At different phases of the Eitel reaction, the rates of several reaction steps vary widely.
This seemingly simple process is much more complicated than the Hubble-Bosch reaction. Eitel has studied this process in detail, and some of the research methods he has used have great implications for studying chemical reactions on complex interfaces.
Eitel’s research is broad. He also uses surface science methods and methods to study scientific issues in many related fields, including fuel cells, ozone layer destruction, and so on.
The method he developed has widely influenced the progress of surface chemistry, and his actual impact is not only in academic research but also in many aspects of agricultural and chemical industry research and development.
Surface Chemistry Applications
1. Clean the carbon oxides on the platinum surface.
2. Freon in the air-conditioning system destroys the ozone layer through the chemical reaction on the surface of small ice crystals.
3. Metal surface rusts when exposed to air.
4. In the electronics industry, make semiconductor components.
5. Ammonia contained in artificial fertilizer is produced by nitrogen and hydrogen on the surface of metals (such as platinum-rhodium alloy mesh mentioned in textbooks).
