Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 15, 2026

A Method to Manipulate Surface Tension of a Liquid Metal via Surface Oxidation and Reduction
Published on: January 26, 2016
Chemically induced electronic excitations at metal surfaces
B Gergen1, H Nienhaus, W H Weinberg
1Department of Chemical Engineering, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106-5080, USA.
Abstract:
The energy released in low-energy chemisorption or physisorption of molecules on metal surfaces is usually expected to be dissipated by surface vibrations (phonons). Theoretical descriptions of competing electronic excitations are incomplete, and experimental observation of excited charge carriers has been difficult except at energies high enough to eject electrons from the surface. We observed reaction-induced electron excitations during gas interactions with polycrystalline silver for a variety of species with adsorption energies between 0.2 and 3.5 electron volts. The probability of exciting a detectable electron increases with increasing adsorption energy, and the measured time dependence of the electron current can be understood in terms of the strength and mechanism of adsorption.
Related Concept Videos
Standard Electrode Potentials
Charging Conductors By Induction
Generally, conductors like metals do not allow any excess charge to be present on them. Any excess charge added to metals easily flows away, for example, when a metal is placed on the Earth. This process is called earthing.
However, conductors can be charged by a process called induction. For example, consider charging a...
Electrodeposition
Electrodeposition can...
Electrochemical Systems
Electrochemical Cells
The Electrical Double Layer

