Other surface techniques

Other techniques such as low-energy electron diffraction (LEED) are also used for surface analysis, primarily for large single crystals. Single crystal metal surfaces have been used to study hydrocarbon catalysis on platinum (Anderson 1975). Techniques such as x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) are also used for surface analysis but normally the reports describe mostly idealized single-crystal surfaces in high vacuum as opposed to using real-life (practical) catalyst systems under reaction environments. 

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Because of the inherently destructive nature of ion bombardment, the use of SSIMS alone in the study of the reactions of surfaces with gases and vapor must be viewed with caution, but in combination with other surface techniques it can provide valuable additional information. The parallel techniques are most often XPS,TDS, and LEED, and the complementary information required from SSIMS normally refers to the nature of molecules on surfaces and with which other atoms, if any, they are combined. 

Comparison of STM data with those derived from other surface techniques is essential... 

A major advantage of LA-ICP-MS as a microprobe analytical technique is the ability to obtain data for virtually any element in the periodic table. LA-ICP-MS also can be used to quantify elements that are present in the low parts-per-million (ppm) to parts-per-trillion (ppt) range. In contrast, other surface techniques such as, SEM, XRF, and PIXE are limited by the number of elements detectable and have higher detection limits than ICP-MS. 

Numerous techniques have been employed to examine the monolayer structure of phospholipids at the air/water interface including surface tension, fluorescence, neutron and X-ray reflection, and IR and Raman spectroscopy. In contrast, very few techniques are suitable to examine monolayers at the oil/water interface. Surface tension and fluorescence microscopy [46-48] have shed some light on these buried monolayers, but most other surface techniques are hampered because of effects from the bulk liquids. Since VSFS is insensitive to the bulk, it is an excellent technique for probing these monolayers. 

Other surface techniques that have been applied to this system (e.g. XANES, XPS, and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy) also provided further support for the overall picture. As for the precise geometry of the active sites, the debate continues. 

The main factor in beam analysis that affects the reliability of the analytical information is the reproducibility of the surfaces. When using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), the apparati are connected to the computer, which makes it possible to obtain quite a bit of information about the sample, especially by X-ray and AES. However, the apparati cannot assure the same length for beam penetration on the surface, which means that the analytical information can be uncertain. Because the beam analysis is rapid, it requires very fast detectors, e.g., Ge/Li or Si/Li. The LA can be successfully used in surface analysis. An automated system has been constructed, laser-induced breakdown spectrometry (LIBS).213 This is an alternative to other surface techniques — secondary ion mas spectroscopy (SIMS), SEM, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) — and it increases the lateral and depth resolution. 

Recently, studies of monolayer film structure and composition have also been extended to nonmetal substrates, which have long been considered as unsuitable for RAIRS measurements due to their inherent low reflectivity and the often very complex band shapes of the film absorptions (see Figure 3B). In addition, the partial transparency of nonmetallic substrates also allows other surface techniques such as transmission or ATR spectroscopy to be used. The main advantages of RAIRS, on the other hand, are ... 

From a methodological point of view, of particularly interest have been improvements in the chemical sensitivity of STM and AFM characterization. This is especially desirable for electrochemists, as electrochemical environments prevent the combined characterization by other surface techniques, as are frequently used for composition determinations in vacuum. Tunneling spectroscopy measurements to obtain 7 y and d//dV y relationships may provide a certain degree of information regarding the electronic structure of the substrate surface and adsorbed molecules [77], and the use of ionic liquids of large electrochemical windows is favorable in this respect. One major enhancement would be to complement SPM with other spatial, time- and energy-resolved surface in-situ techniques. For example, a combination of scanning electrochemical microscopy and atomic force microscopy... 

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