DYNAMICS OF GAS-SURFACE REACTIONS

Although there have been copious studies of gas-surface adsorption systems during the last thirty years, there is little doubt that during this period the subject has been more concerned with structural and kinetic properties than with studies of dynamical phenomena. This is now changing, both from an experimental and a theoretical point of view where there have been rapid advances particularly in the past decade. This review will concentrate primarily in the application of theoretical method to the treatment of reactive scattering of simple molecules from metal surfaces. Steric effects in the dissociation reaction, and the effects of placing energy in internal degrees of freedom for the molecular reactant will be discussed. The implications of surfaces that offer a wide range of activation barriers to adsorption will also be presented. Finally, some thoughts on future directions are given.