Negative ion resonances of O₂ adsorbed on Ag surfaces

This article gathers together a collection of recent experimental studies of the adsorption of oxygen on (001), (110) and (111) crystal surfaces of silver with special emphasis on the negative ion states of this model system for oxygen adsorption. These investigations were performed in a network entitled ‘Negative ion resonances of adsorbed molecules’ supported financially by the European Union within the ‘Human capital and mobility programme’. The kinetics and thermodynamics of adsorption are investigated by measuring the sticking coefficient and by thermal desorption spectroscopy (TDS). The vibrational spectra provided by high-resolution electron energy loss spectroscopy (HREELS) are used to analyse the adsorbed species (physisorbed and chemisorbed) in the case of O2 on Ag(110) and on Ag(111). The mechanisms of inelastic electron scattering by adsorbed O2 are further investigated with special reference to the negative ion resonances (NIRs), formed by electron capture, which are involved in the electron–molecule collision process