Spectroscopy and Surface Analysis

Jose F. Marco, Jose Ramon Gancedo, Matteo Monti, and Juan de la Figuera 

Insljtuto de Quimica Rsica Rocasolano , CSIQ Madrid, Spain 

Surface analysis is a complex matter. The complexity starts by the definition of the term surface itself. Not everyone understands the same by surface. We often hear and speak about the surface of Earth or Mars, about the inner surfaces of a zeolite, about the existence of surface processes such as corrosion or adhesion, and so on. Depending on the field or the particular application, we talk about different things that have, however, a common characteristic. In all the cases, the surface is a border region that separates the solid (the bulk) from the environment (liquid or gaseous). It is the thickness of this border region, and what happens within this thickness, that determines the characteristics of many processes that are relevant in both basic science and technology. This thickness may extend from a few atomic layers (and thus be the subject of surface science ) to a few nanometers (surface analysis) or afraction of a micrometer (thin film analysis). Thus, in this chapter the term surface represents the external part of a solid having a thickness from a fraction of a monolayer to a few nanometers. 

This book is about Mossbauer spectroscopy. We might wonder how it can be applied to study surfece layers a few nanometers thick. A surface analytical technique needs to meet two important requirements (i) it should be sensitive, that is, it should be able to detect a small number of atoms (while a cubic centimeter of solid material contains roughly substitute 10 atoms, a square centimeter of the same material contains a much smaller number of atoms, approximately 10 atoms), and (ii) it should be specific, that is, it should be able to separate the contributions of the surface from those of the bulk. 

Mossbauer Spectroscopy Applications in Chemistry, Biology, and Nanotechnology, First Edition. Edited by Virender K. Sharma, Gostar Klingelhdfer, and Tetsuaki Nishida. 

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Laboratory for Electron Spectroscopy and Surface Analysis, Department of Chemistry, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721... 

Spectroscopy and Surface Analysis at Interfaces Between Condensed Phases... 

Spectroscopy and Surface Analysis at Interfaces Between Condensed Phases 15 Table 4.1. Probes and signals in surface analysis... 

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