Heterogeneous Interfaces Investigated by Photoelectron Spectroscopy
by
Charles Fadley(UC Davis), Hendrik Bluhm(LBNL)
→
US/Pacific
Auditorium (Bldg. 50)
Auditorium
Bldg. 50
Description
Interfaces play a vital role in heterogeneous reactions in, e.g., energy conversion, electrochemistry, heterogeneous catalysis, and atmospheric and environmental processes. Beyond this, they are critical in information technology, from logic circuits to memory devices to the possibilities of quantum computing. The width of the interface region of interest is usually only a few nanometers or less, and can have markedly different properties from the two adjacent bulk phases. As a tool for studying such interfaces, photoelectron spectroscopy is inherently surface sensitive due to the short mean free path of electrons in matter and thus is an excellent method for the investigation of interfacial processes with chemical, electrical potential, and even magnetic resolution. In this talk, we discuss experimental approaches to measuring a variety of interfaces non-destructively and under close-to-operating conditions using photoelectron spectroscopy, including the enhancement of the interface signal over that originating from the two bulk phases using X-ray standing waves. We will discuss the measurement of solid/solid, solid/liquid and liquid/vapor interfaces with relevance to electrochemistry, atmospheric science, and data storage.
