Spiers memorial lecture dynamics of surface reactions

The dynamics of electrode processes is discussed in the framework of the general hierarchy of dynamic processes underlying interface reactions. On the quantum level, the energy transfer between the various degrees of freedom of a reacting system may now be studied by ultrafast (femtosecond) laser techniques. On the atomic level the mechanism of surface reactions may be investigated by STM and spectroscopic methods. Frequently a surface reaction will affect the structure of the substrate on the mesoscopic scale. The kinetics of such phase transformations proceeds either by a nucleation and growth mechanism or by spinodal decomposition. The latter can be studied in electrodissolution by combining STM with very short potential pulses. In this context, a novel technique for electrochemical micromachining is presented. Finally, some aspects of nonlinear kinetics on the macroscopic level associated with spatio-temporal pattern formation are briefly discussed.