Surface Chemistry

Surface Chemistry presents an accessible treatment of the fundamental concepts of the subject, suitable for undergraduate courses. The author describes the properties of solid surfaces, at both macroscopic and microscopic levels, and examines how atoms and molecules interact with surfaces, explaining how and why they subsequently behave and react. Dr McCash begins with a discussion of the clean surface, from the points of view of its electronic and its structural properties, and goes on to cover the topics of adsorption, desorption, and reactions and reactivity at a surface. A concluding section introduces the field concerned with the growth and properties of ultrathin films. Important techniques are described, but the overall approach is concept- rather than technique-driven. Covering a wide range of the most important topics in surface science, Surface Chemistry explains in clear language the established concepts of the subject while also giving a foretaste of the striking advances made in the subject in recent years.