Surface spectroscopy articles from across Nature Portfolio

The modification of cellulose nanocrystal film using alkyl silane and silane containing tertiary amino groups was performed in a suspension state. Control of the surface structure and functionalization by silane compounds was conducted in the two-stage process. Wettability change property of the silylation-modified CNC triggered by CO₂ was demonstrated.

Methanol on under-coordinated Pt sites at surface Te vacancies on layered PtTe2 decomposes at a probability >90 % which ultimately produces gaseous molecular hydrogen, methane, water and formaldehyde.

Nanotexture-sensitive fracture focusing during magma fragmentation determines the surface chemistry of volcanic ash particles, thereby modifying the reactive interface and subsequent environmental impacts

The organization of electrolytes at the air/water interface affects the structure of interfacial water and therefore numerous natural processes. It has now been demonstrated that the surface of an electrolyte solution is stratified and consists of an ion-depleted outer surface and an ion-enriched subsurface layer, jointly determining the water interfacial structure.

Using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, the surface composition of iron and ruthenium catalysts during ammonia synthesis at pressures up to 1 bar and temperatures as high as 723 K can be revealed.

Platinum dispersed on metal oxide supports is widely used for industrially important catalysis such as the reverse water gas shift reaction, but active site migration and subsequent alterations in catalytic performance are still not fully understood. Here, the use of platinum on ceria nanodomes shows the detrimental effect of migration of platinum nanoparticles to titania supports at elevated temperatures.

Voronoi domains combined with modelled vibrational sum frequency generation spectroscopy can be used to investigate surfaces, interfaces, and hydrations shells at reduced computational costs.

A second-harmonic generation approach enables the direct measurement of the potential of zero charge at electrochemical interfaces.

The physical properties of a liquid at an interface differ from bulk solution limits, but how this affects chemical reactivity is unclear. Now, ultrafast, surface-sensitive vibrational spectroscopy has revealed that the light-induced reaction of phenol with water is four orders of magnitude faster at the water surface than in bulk.

Molecular vibrations can be highly effective promoters of gas-phase chemistry. Now, measurements show that excited vibrational states can survive on metal surfaces far longer than expected — reshaping our understanding of how vibrational excitation might also promote or modify heterogeneously catalysed chemistry on metals.

For electrocatalysts, the activity and stability is determined by the surface — often just a few atomic layers thick. Now atom probe tomography is used to examine the changing surface of an oxygen evolution catalyst at near-atomic-scale resolution, linking structure to activity and stability.

The controlled deposition of single Pt atoms on a substrate affords a well-dispersed and robust CO oxidation catalyst, for which spectroscopic characterization can unravel detailed reaction pathways.