Experimental and Theoretical Investigation of Surface Chemistry Induced by Direct and Indirect Electronic Excitation
Abstract
There is now a considerable body of work concerned with the uv photochemistry of molecules adsorbed on well characterized metal, and to a lesser extent, semiconductor and insulator surfaces. Several detailed review articles have already appeared on this subject. It has become clear that the photochemistry of monolayer adsorbates on surfaces is strongly influenced by a competition between promotion of the molecule to an excited state and quenching of that excited state. Excitation can be driven either by adsorbate or substrate photon absorption, and depending upon the excited state lifetime, a variety of relaxation mechanisms (quenching), may be important. These include radiative processes (fluorescence and phosphorescence), non-radiative processes (energy transfer to the surface or neighboring molecules via excitation of plasmons, phonons or creation of electron-hole pairs) and chemical reaction. As a result, extensive modification of photochemical behavior has been observed for an adsorbate molecule with respect to its gas phase counterpart.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jul 01, 1993
- Accession Number
- ADA268846
Entities
People
- Eric Weitz
- Peter C. Stair
Organizations
- Northwestern University