Work function process

To date, it has been found that the positronium formation potential, see equation (1.14), is positive for nPs > 1, so that excited state positronium emission by a work function process is forbidden. Only positrons which reach a surface epithermally (which occurs predominantly at low impact energies where they do not penetrate far into the solid) may... 

Meeting these criteria in turn depends on the effective use of a number of work functions, processes and objects identified during the analysis. For example, the work functions included ... 

The potential corresponding to the reversible overall process is the measurable quantity Vobs- If we know the work function for R, that is, the potential for e (in R) = e (in air), then Vobs - r is E for the process... 

When an electropositive or electronegative adsorbate adaches itself to a surface, there is usually a change in the surface dipole, which, in turn, affects the surface work ftmction. Thus, very small coverages of adsorbates can be used to modify fhe surface work ftmcfion in order to ascertain the role that the work function plays in a given process. Conversely, work ftmction measurements can be used to accurately detennine the coverage of these adsorbates. 

This thermal ionization process requires fiiament temperatures of about 1000-2000°C. At these temperatures, many substances, such as most organic compounds, are quickiy broken down, so the ions produced are not representative of the structure of the original sample substance placed on the filament. Ionization energies (1) for most organic substances are substantially greater than the filament work function (( )) therefore 1 - ( ) is positive (endothermic) and few positive ions are produced. 

Electron-tunneling Model. Several models based on quantum mechanics have been introduced. One describes how an electron of the conducting band tunnels to the leaving atom, or vice versa. The probability of tunneling depends on the ionization potential of the sputtered element, the velocity of the atom (time available for the tunneling process) and on the work function of the metal (adiabatic surface ionization, Schroeer model [3.46]). 

A thin layer deposited between the electrode and the charge transport material can be used to modify the injection process. Some of these arc (relatively poor) conductors and should be viewed as electrode materials in their own right, for example the polymers polyaniline (PAni) [81-83] and polyethylenedioxythiophene (PEDT or PEDOT) [83, 841 heavily doped with anions to be intrinsically conducting. They have work functions of approximately 5.0 cV [75] and therefore are used as anode materials, typically on top of 1TO, which is present to provide lateral conductivity. Thin layers of transition metal oxide on ITO have also been shown [74J to have better injection properties than ITO itself. Again these materials (oxides of ruthenium, molybdenum or vanadium) have high work functions, but because of their low conductivity cannot be used alone as the electrode. 

In earlier days, A was called the work function because it equals the work performed on or by a system in a reversible process conducted at constant temperature. In the next chapter we will quantitatively define work, describe the reversible process and prove this equality. The name free energy for A results from this equality. That is, A A is the energy free or available to do work. Work is not a state function and depends upon the path and hence, is often not easy to calculate. Under the conditions of reversibility and constant temperature, however, calculation of A A provides a useful procedure for calculating u ... 

Finally, it is worth noting that the peak potential value of the adatom redox process and the enthalpy of formation of the oxide are also eorrelated with the electronegativity and work funetion of the adatom, more electronegative adatoms having higher peak potential. Eleetronegativity and work function values of the different adatoms are summarized in Table 7.4 for eomparison purposes. 

If the work function is smaller than the ionization potential of metastable state (see. Fig. 5.18b), then the process of resonance ionization becomes impossible and the major way of de-excitation is a direct Auger-deactivation process similar to the Penning Effect ionization a valence electron of metal moves to an unoccupied orbital of the atom ground state, and the excited electron from a higher orbital of the atom is ejected into the gaseous phase. The energy spectrum of secondary electrons is characterized by a marked maximum corresponding to the... 

There is further emphasis on adsorption isotherms, the nature of the adsorption process, with measurements of heats of adsorption providing evidence for different adsorption processes - physical adsorption and activated adsorption -and surface mobility. We see the emergence of physics-based experimental methods for the study of adsorption, with Becker at Bell Telephone Laboratories applying thermionic emission methods and work function changes for alkali metal adsorption on tungsten. 

The electron work function is very important for the physics of the solid phase and for its application to electronics. In electrochemistry, it is especially important for electrode processes involving adsorption of some of the species participating in the electrode reaction. 

In surface science, work function measurements are considered to be rather sensitive towards changes of the sample surface. Work function measurements are used to follow adsorption processes and to determine the dipole established at the surface. During oxygen adsorption and oxide formation the sign of the work function change allows one to distinguish between oxygen atom adsorbed on the surface or sub-surface [30]. 

These measurements have verified that the work function of an electrode, emersed with the double layer intact, depends only on the electrode potential and not on the electrode material or the state of the electrode (oxidized or covered with submonolayer amounts of a metal) [20]. Work function measurements on emersed electrodes do not serve the same purpose as in surface science investigations of the solid vacuum interface. At the electrochemical interface, any change of the work function by adsorption is compensated by a rearrangement of the electrochemical double layer in order to keep the applied potential i.e. overall work function, constant. Work function measurements, however, could well be used as a probe for the quality of the emersion process. Provided the accuracy of the measurement is good enough, a combination of electrochemical and UPS measurements may lead to a determination of the components of equation (4). 

The interpretation of XPS data is not always straightforward as is exemplified by different conclusions drawn by different investigators for the same electrode reaction. These discrepancies can be overcome if certain standards for electrode preparation, emersion and transfer processes are developed. The effects of the relative complexity of the emersed electrochemical interface on XPS and UPS data analysis in terms of (electro)chemical shifts and work function changes have to be considered. 

Emersion has been shown to result in the retention of the double layer structure i.e, the structure including the outer Helmholtz layer. Thus, the electric double layer is characterised by the electrode potential, the surface charge on the metal and the chemical composition of the double layer itself. Surface resistivity measurements have shown that the surface charge is retained on emersion. In addition, the potential of the emersed electrode, , can be determined in the form of its work function, , since and represent the same quantity the electrochemical potential of the electrons in the metal. Figure 2.116 is from the work of Kotz et al. (1986) and shows the work function of a gold electrode emersed at various potentials from a perchloric acid solution the work function was determined from UVPES measurements. The linear plot, and the unit slope, are clear evidence that the potential drop across the double layer is retained before and after emersion. The chemical composition of the double layer can also be determined, using AES, and is consistent with the expected solvent and electrolyte. In practice, the double layer collapses unless (i) potentiostatic control is maintained up to the instant of emersion and (ii) no faradaic processes, such as 02 reduction, are allowed to occur after emersion. 

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