Kinetics of adsorption, desorption, and migration at singlecrystal metal surfaces

Abstract This restricted review of a broad and expanding research field represents an attempt to provide an integrated approach to the three primary kinetic processes in chemisorption, emphasizing the interrelationship between structure and kinetics. Kinetic analyses alone are notoriously ambiguous; the success of a particular model is thus dependent on a full range of corroborative experimental information. Indeed, an understanding of the processes involved in the formation of chemisorbed overlayers, in adatom mobility, and in desorption is contingent on the application of structural techniques to chemisorption systems. On the other hand, results from kinetic studies—and desorption, in particular—can also play an important role in the determination of adsorbate structures.