Adsorption Dynamics on Nickel Surfaces
Summary
Adsorption dynamics on nickel surfaces encompass the processes by which gas-phase or liquid-phase molecules adhere to and interact with metallic nickel substrates. These interactions underpin a host of industrial and environmental technologies, including hydrogen production, fuel-cell catalysis, hydrocarbon reforming and emission control. At the atomic scale, adsorption involves physisorption through weak van der Waals forces and chemisorption via the formation of chemical bonds between adsorbates and surface atoms. The nature of the nickel surface—its crystallographic orientation, electronic structure and defect density—governs the strength and kinetics of adsorption. Advanced experimental techniques such as temperature-programmed desorption and molecular beam scattering, together with computational approaches rooted in density functional theory, have revealed how adsorbate coverage, co-adsorption effects and surface reconstruction modulate reaction pathways and energy barriers. A detailed understanding of these factors enables the rational design of nickel-based catalysts with optimised activity, selectivity and stability for processes that range from hydrogen evolution to pollution abatement.
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Adsorption Dynamics on Nickel Surfaces publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in adsorption dynamics on nickel surfaces across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Adsorption: The process by which atoms, ions or molecules from a fluid phase adhere to a solid surface.
Ni(111) surface: A crystalline orientation of nickel exposing a close-packed arrangement of atoms, frequently used as a model in surface science.
Chemisorption: Strong adsorption involving the formation of chemical bonds between the adsorbate and surface atoms.
Activation energy: The minimum energy barrier that reactants must overcome to transform into products on a surface.
Co-adsorption: The simultaneous adsorption of two or more different species on a surface, which can alter reaction energetics and pathways.
Density functional theory (DFT): A quantum-mechanical computational method for modelling the electronic structure of atoms, molecules and solids.
Brønsted–Evans–Polanyi (BEP) relation: A linear correlation between reaction energies and activation energies for a family of related elementary reactions.
Transition-state scaling (TSS): A predictive framework linking the energy of transition states to adsorption energies of initial and final states.
References
- DFT studies of hydrocarbon combustion on metal surfaces. Journal of Molecular Modeling (2018).
- The Effect of Carbon Monoxide Co-Adsorption on Ni-Catalysed Water Dissociation. International Journal of Molecular Sciences (2013).
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