Surface Science of Electron Emission, Atom Probe Tomography, and Silver Catalysis
This community investigates the fundamental physics of electrons interacting with material surfaces, encompassing the engineering of electron sources, the atomic-scale characterization of materials, and the catalytic conversion of hydrocarbons on metal surfaces.
The research focuses on three distinct but related areas of surface science. First, the development of electron emission sources, including thermionic cathodes made of lanthanum hexaboride and scandates, as well as GaAs and alkali antimonide photocathodes for particle accelerators and electron guns. Second, the application of atom probe tomography and field evaporation to determine the atomic structure and composition of materials, including iron oxides and monazite. Third, the surface chemistry of silver catalysts for ethylene epoxidation, specifically studying the role of oxygen species, nickel promoters, and surface hydroxyls in reaction selectivity. These studies rely heavily on photoelectron spectroscopy, density functional theory, and the measurement of work functions and electron affinities to understand electronic structure at the interface.
The community is most heavily concentrated in research involving Oxygen, Carbon, and Tungsten. It represents 2.7% of all tracked research on Lanthanum, 2.0% of Tungsten research, and 0.7% of Silver research. The largest share of the community's output is found in Oxygen research, which is also the element with the highest paper count within this group.
The community comprises 25,134 papers, published primarily in Surface Science, Physical Review B, and The Journal of Chemical Physics.
Recent work continues to explore the spatial resolution limits of atom probe tomography, the development of advanced polarized electron sources, and the specific mechanisms of hydroxyl formation on silver surfaces during epoxidation.