Alkali metals surfaces

NakatsujI H, Kuwano R, Merita H and Nakal H 1993 Dipped adcluster model and SAC-CI method applied to harpooning, chemical luminescence and electron emission in halogen chemisorption on alkali metal surface J. Mol. Catal. 82 211-28... 

Another phenomenon that was inexplicable in classical terms was the photoelectric effect discovered by Hertz in f 887. When ultraviolet light falls on an alkali metal surface, electrons are ejected from the surface only when the frequency of the radiation reaches the threshold... 

Between these limiting cases, intermediate states are possible The same molecule can give off electrons to a metal with high electronic work function (e.g., H atoms to platinum) or receive electrons from a metal with low electronic work function (formation of hydrides between H atoms and alkali-metal surfaces). 

Work functions of alkali metal surfaces are only a few electronvolts1 so that the energy of near ultraviolet radiation is sufficient to produce ionization. 

Similar effects had been reported earlier for Cl and Br ions ejected from alkali metal surfaces exposed to halogens, however with considerably higher yields [14,15]. Interestingly, there seems to exist a direct relation between the yield of negative ions and the energy difference between the work fimction and the affinity level, AE = (f>- Ea. 

G. Mistura, H. C. Lee, and M. H. W. Chan, Hydrogen adsorption on alkali metal surfaces wetting, prewetting and triple-point wetting, J. Low Temp. Phys., 96,221-244 (1994). 

The first example concerns BE shifts, ABE, of atoms in the surface layer of the substrate when alkali atoms are adsorbed on metal surfaces. As we noted above, there has been considerable recent activity to characterize the nature of the bond of the alkali-metal surface interaction. Riffe et al. made measurements of the core level BE shifts, ABEs, of the surface layer of W atoms when alkali atoms are adsorbed on W(110). For low coverage and for monolayer coverage of Na, K, and Cs, they found only very small shifts from the BE values for a clean W(110) surface. Based on these small shifts, they concluded that there is little, if any, charge transfer from the adsorbate alkali to the W surface atoms for any coverage of an alkali atom. 

One may rationalize emulsion type in terms of interfacial tensions. Bancroft [20] and later Clowes [21] proposed that the interfacial film of emulsion-stabilizing surfactant be regarded as duplex in nature, so that an inner and an outer interfacial tension could be discussed. On this basis, the type of emulsion formed (W/O vs. O/W) should be such that the inner surface is the one of higher surface tension. Thus sodium and other alkali metal soaps tend to stabilize O/W emulsions, and the explanation would be that, being more water- than oil-soluble, the film-water interfacial tension should be lower than the film-oil one. Conversely, with the relatively more oil-soluble metal soaps, the reverse should be true, and they should stabilize W/O emulsions, as in fact they do. An alternative statement, known as Bancroft s rule, is that the external phase will be that in which the emulsifying agent is the more soluble [20]. A related approach is discussed in Section XIV-5. 

A more dramatic type of restmctiiring occurs with the adsorption of alkali metals onto certain fee metal surfaces [39]. In this case, multilayer composite surfaces are fomied in which the alkali and metal atoms are intemiixed in an ordered stmcture. These stmctiires involve the substitution of alkali atoms into substrate sites, and the details of the stmctiires are found to be coverage-dependent. The stmctiires are influenced by the repulsion between the dipoles fomied by neighbouring alkali adsorbates and by the interactions of the alkalis with the substrate itself [40]. 

Tochihara H and Mizuno S 1998 Composite surface structures formed by restructuring-type adsorption of alkali-metals on FCC metals Prog. Surf. Sc/. 58 1... 

Diehl R D and McGrath R 1996 Structural studies of alkali metal adsorption and coadsorption on metal surfaces Surf. Sc/. Rep. 23 43... 

The full quantum mechanical study of nuclear dynamics in molecules has received considerable attention in recent years. An important example of such developments is the work carried out on the prototypical systems H3 [1-5] and its isotopic variant HD2 [5-8], Li3 [9-12], Na3 [13,14], and HO2 [15-18], In particular, for the alkali metal trimers, the possibility of a conical intersection between the two lowest doublet potential energy surfaces introduces a complication that makes their theoretical study fairly challenging. Thus, alkali metal trimers have recently emerged as ideal systems to study molecular vibronic dynamics, especially the so-called geometric phase (GP) effect [13,19,20] (often referred to as the molecular Aharonov-Bohm effect [19] or Berry s phase effect [21]) for further discussion on this topic see [22-25], and references cited therein. The same features also turn out to be present in the case of HO2, and their exact treatment assumes even further complexity [18],... 

H3 (and its isotopomers) and the alkali metal triiners (denoted generally for the homonuclears by X3, where X is an atom) are typical Jahn-Teller systems where the two lowest adiabatic potential energy surfaces conically intersect. Since such manifolds of electronic states have recently been discussed [60] in some detail, we review in this section only the diabatic representation of such surfaces and their major topographical details. The relevant 2x2 diabatic potential matrix W assumes the fomi... 

In this section, we extend the above discussion to the isotopomers of X3 systems, where X stands for an alkali metal atom. For the lowest two electronic states, the permutational properties of the electronic wave functions are similar to those of Lij. Their potential energy surfaces show that the baniers for pseudorotation are very low [80], and we must regard the concerned particles as identical. The Na atom has a nuclear spin " K, and K have nuclear... 

Photoelectron spectroscopy involves the ejection of electrons from atoms or molecules following bombardment by monochromatic photons. The ejected electrons are called photoelectrons and were mentioned, in the context of the photoelectric effect, in Section 1.2. The effect was observed originally on surfaces of easily ionizable metals, such as the alkali metals. Bombardment of the surface with photons of tunable frequency does not produce any photoelectrons until the threshold frequency is reached (see Figure 1.2). At this frequency, v, the photon energy is just sufficient to overcome the work function

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Promoters. Many industrial catalysts contain promoters, commonly chemical promoters. A chemical promoter is used in a small amount and influences the surface chemistry. Alkali metals are often used as chemical promoters, for example, in ammonia synthesis catalysts, ethylene oxide catalysts, and Fischer-Tropsch catalysts (55). They may be used in as Httie as parts per million quantities. The mechanisms of their action are usually not well understood. In contrast, seldom-used textural promoters, also called stmctural promoters, are used in massive amounts and affect the physical properties of the catalyst. These are used in ammonia synthesis catalysts. 

The chemical resistance of PTFE is exceptional. There are no solvents and it is attacked at room temperature only by molten alkali metals and in some cases by fluorine. Treatment with a solution of sodium metal in liquid ammonia will sufficiently alter the surface of a PTFE sample to enable it to be cemented to other materials using epoxide resin adhesives. 

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