Raman spectroscopy of surfaces

Raman scattering has usually a very low efficiency. Therefore, during the first five decades after its discovery, Raman spectroscopic investigations of adsorbate-covered surfaces (except surfaces of highly porous samples) were out of reach. This changed in 1970s, when for molecules adsorbed on some surfaces, very large increase of the intensity of Raman spectrum (denoted as surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy – SERS) was reported. In the past decade, two other very important achievements in surface Raman spectroscopy have been made: observation of SER spectrum of a single molecule and coupling of Raman spectroscope with the scanning probe microscope (STM or AFM) allowing a significant increase in the spatial resolution of Raman measurements in so-called tip-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (TERS). In the latter approach, fine tip made of a metal that supports surface plasmon resonances (such tip may be treated as a very local electromagnetic resonator) is brought at the nanometer distance above the surface, which induces large increase of the Raman scattering from molecules adsorbed at a surface located underneath the tip. This short review presents an overview of the state of the art and further possible applications of Raman spectroscopy in surface analysis. We mainly focus on SERS and TERS. Future prospects in these fields are also discussed.     

Atomically flat surface preparation for surface-sensitive technologies

Surface-sensitive measurements are crucial to many types of researches in condensed matter physics.However,it is difficult to obtain atomically flat surfaces of many single crystals by the commonly used mechanical cleavage.We demonstrate that the grind-polish-sputter-anneal method can be used to obtain atomically flat surfaces on topological materials.Three types of surface-sensitive measurements are performed on CoSi(001) surface with dramatically improved quality of data.This method extends the research area of surface-sensitive measurements to hard-to-cleave alloys,and can be applied to irregular single crystals with selective crystalline planes.It may become a routine process of preparing atomically flat surfaces for surface-sensitive technologies.     

Morphometry in temporal lobe epilepsy

We demonstrate a method for quantitating changes in volume and morphology of the temporal lobe in epilepsy. The temporal lobes of 10 neurologically normal subjects and six subjects with well defined left-sided mesial temporal epilepsy were studied. From high resolution T₁-weighted magnetic resonance images, the grey and white matter were manually segmented over a predetermined extent. The volumes of the grey and white matter were determined. Using the segmented images, the grey matter/CSF surface and the white matter/grey matter surface were reconstructed, allowing estimates of the surface area and calculation of indices of curvature for the two surfaces. The index of curvature was calculated for each vertex of a polygonal mesh that was fitted to the surfaces. An index of grey matter thickness (grey matter volume/white matter surface area) was also calculated. There was a significant bilateral decrease in the total volume (p < .01), grey matter volume (p < .001) and grey matter thickness index (p < .05) in epileptic subjects. In addition, there was a bilateral decrease in white matter surface area (p < .05) and a small left-sided decrease in white matter volume (p < .05) in epileptic subjects. The average distributions of indices of curvature for both surfaces differed significantly (p < .05) between normal and epileptic subjects. In the grey matter/CSF surface of normal subjects, a large peak corresponding to surface concavity was present. The amplitude of this peak was significantly lower in epileptic subjects (p < .05 for the right hemisphere; p < .001 for the left hemisphere).     

Adsorption of water molecule on (001) and (110) surfaces of MgH2

First principle calculations have been performed to explore the adsorption characteristics of water molecule on (001) and (110) surfaces of magnesium hydride. The stable adsorption configurations of water molecule on the surfaces of MgH₂ were identified by comparing the total energies of different adsorption states. The (110) surface shows a higher reactivity with H₂O molecule owing to the larger adsorption energy than the (001) surface, and the adsorption mechanisms of water molecule on the two surfaces were clarified from electronic structures. For both (001) and (110) surface adsorptions, the O p orbitals overlapped with the Mg s and p orbitals leading to interactions between O and Mg atoms and weakening the O–H bonds in water molecule. Due to the difference of the bonding strength between O and Mg atoms in the (001) and (110) surfaces, the adsorption energies and configurations of water molecule on the two surfaces are significantly different.     

Enhanced optical sensitivity to adsorption due to depolarization of anisotropic surface states

Reflectance difference spectroscopy is used to probe the optical transitions between surface states on the Cu(110) surface. Upon deposition of smallest amounts of carbon monoxide (CO) the signal is strongly quenched, which translates into a huge cross section of the order of 1000 A(2) for a single adsorbed CO molecule. This strongly enhanced surface sensitivity is interpreted as the loss in anisotropy (depolarization) of the surface states due to scattering from the adsorbed CO molecules. This feature renders RDS an extremely sensitive tool to probe the adsorption kinetics on anisotropic metal surfaces.     

H_2在Ni,Pd与Cu表面的解离吸附

用EAM方法(embeded-atommethod)研究H_2在Ni,Pd与Cu的(100),(110)与(111)面上的解离吸附.首先通过拟合单个H原子在Ni,Pd与Cu不同表面上的吸附能和吸附键长,得到H与这些金属表面相互作用的EAM势,然后计算H_2在这些表面上以不同方式进行解离吸附时的活化势垒E_a,吸附热q_(ad)与吸附键长R.并给出H_2在(110)面上解离吸附的势能曲线.计算结果表明H_2的解离吸附与衬底种类、衬底表面取向及解离方式有关.H_2在Ni表面上解离时活化势垒很低,而在Cu表面解 关键词：     

Localization microscopy (SPDM) facilitates high precision control of lithographically produced nanostructures

Nanoscale resolution in material sciences is usually restricted to scanning electron beam microscopes. Here we present a procedure that allows single molecule resolution of the sample surface with visible light. Highlighting the performance we used electron beam lithography to generate highly regular nanostructures consisting of interconnected cubes. The samples were labeled with Alexa 647 dyes. The spatial organization of the dyes on nanostructured surfaces was localized with single molecule resolution using localization microscopy. This succeeded also in an absolute spatial calibration of the localization method applied (spectral precision distance microscopy/SPDM). The findings will contribute to the field of product control for industrial applications and long-term fluorescence imaging.     

Single‐molecule detection of thionine on aggregated gold nanoparticles by surface enhanced Raman scattering

We report observations of single‐molecule detection of thionine and its dynamic interactions on aggregated gold nanoparticle clusters using surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS). Spectral intensities were found to be independent of the size of Au nanoparticles studied (from 17 to 80 nm) at thionine concentration below 10⁻¹² M or at single‐molecule concentration levels. Raman line separations and, in particular, spectral fluctuations and blinking were also observed, suggesting temporal changes in single molecular motion and/or arrangements of thionine on Au nanoparticle surfaces. In contrast, by using dispersed Au nanoparticles, only ensemble SERS spectra could be observed at relatively high concentrations (> 10⁻⁸ M thionine), and spectral intensities varied with the size of Au nanoparticles. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Scanning kinetic spectroscopy (SKS): A new method for investigation of surface reaction processes

Multiple reaction pathways are available to a polyatomic molecule interacting with a solid surface. Delineation of exact temperature regions in which the various pathways are either active or inactive is accomplished using a new method, Scanning Kinetic Spectroscopy (SKS). SKS uses a calibrated and collimated beam of reactant molecules incident upon a clean single crystal surface in UHV. A multiplexed quadrupole mass spectrometer (QMS) is enclosed inside a differentially pumped random flux shield, in line of sight to the crystal surface. The crystal temperature is programmed with a linear ramp (dT/dt = 2K/s.) and reactant consumption, product evolution, and desorption of stable surface species are simultaneously measured in one experiment. SKS data are presented here which characterize the reactions of methanol with the single crystal surfaces Ni(111), Cu(111), and Cu(111) plus preadsorbed oxygen. Application of the SKS method as an efficient probe of surface reaction pathways is illustrated by the contrasting chemistry of these surfaces. The methanol plus Ni(111) system is examined in detail in order to relate the observed SKS features to specific molecular reaction pathways on the Ni(111) surface.     

气体-表面相互作用的分子动力学模拟研究

采用分子动力学模拟方法研究了气体分子Ar在光滑和粗糙Pt表面上的散射规律.提出了一种速度抽样方法,计算了不同温度条件下气体分子对光滑和粗糙表面的切向动量适应系数和吸附概率.结果显示：光滑表面条件下,气体分子的切向动量系数和吸附概率都随着温度的升高而降低;粗糙度对气体分子切向动量与表面的适应具有极大的促进作用,当粗糙度足够大时,切向动量适应系数的大小趋近于1.0,对温度的敏感性也逐渐降低.采用粒子束方法对气体分子在光滑和粗糙表面上的散射规律进行了定量分析.总结了散射过程中气体分子的典型轨迹和动量变化规律,将气体分子在光滑表面的散射分为两种类型：单次碰撞后散射和多次碰撞后散射.单次碰撞后散射的气体分子平均切向动量有所减小,而经过多次碰撞后散射的气体分子则倾向于保持原有的平均切向动量.对于粗糙表面,粗糙度的存在使气体分子与表面间的动量和能量适应更加充分,导致气体分子在较粗糙表面上散射后的平均切向动量大幅减小并接近于0,且气体分子在表面上经历的碰撞次数越多,其散射后的能量损失越严重.     

Adjacency Effect in the Atmospheric Correction of Satellite Remote Sensing Data: Evaluation of the Influence of Aerosol Extinction Profiles

In the atmospheric correction of satellite data in the visible and near-infrared bands, it is necessary to remove the adjacency effect due to the reflection from contiguous pixels. Evaluation of the influence of aerosol vertical distributions on the adjacency effect is done by calculating the single-scattering light intensity which, after the reflection at the ground surface, reaches the satellite sensor via a single scattering with a molecule or an aerosol particle. In the simulation, we assume aerosol vertical profiles similar to those used in the MODTRAN radiation transfer code, and those having a mixed layer with a uniform value of the aerosol extinction coefficient. We assume for the ground surface a simple model representing a border of land/sea surfaces. In spite of the single scattering approximation, it is confirmed that even if the optical thickness is the same, we have a larger adjacency effect when the extinction coefficient is large at higher altitudes. We also discuss the dependence of the adjacency effect on the aerosol optical thickness and that on the difference in the reflectances of the land and sea surfaces along the border.     

过渡金属Cu、Cr掺杂TiO2表面氧化性气体NO2光学气敏传感特性

采用密度泛函理论（DFT）体系广义梯度近似（GGA）第一性原理平面波超软赝势方法,分析锐钛矿型TiO₂（101）表面吸附NO₂分子光学气敏传感的微观机理.结果表明：Cu和Cr原子易于掺入TiO₂（101）表面,掺杂表面能稳定地吸附NO₂分子且吸附后光学性质发生显著变化.表面吸附NO₂分子后,Cu掺杂TiO₂（101）表面对分子的吸附能最大,吸附后结构更稳定,分子与表面的距离最短.通过分析差分电荷密度和电荷布居数发现,NO₂分子与基底表面间发生电荷转移,转移电子数目：Cu掺杂表面 > Cr掺杂表面 > 无掺杂表面.对比吸收光谱和反射光谱发现,在Cu掺杂表面吸附分子后,光学性质变化最明显,说明表面与吸附分子间氧化还原能力是决定光学气敏传感性能的核心因素.在过渡金属中,Cu与Cr都有4s价电子结构,其4s电子降低了材料表面氧空位的氧化性,增加了其还原性.对于氧化性气体,可以提升表面与分子的氧化还原作用,而Cu的4s电子更加活泼,从而光学气敏传感特性更加明显.因此,Cu掺杂的TiO₂对氧化性气体是一种较好的光学气敏传感材料.     

The reactions of acetone with the surfaces of uranium dioxide single crystal and thin film

The reaction of acetone, as an example of a carbonyl compound, is studied over UO₂ (1 1 1) single crystal and thin film surfaces. Over the stoichiometric single crystal surface, acetone is molecularly and weakly adsorbed with a computed activation energy for desorption in the range of 95-65 kJ/mol with pre-exponential factors between 10¹¹ and 10¹³ s⁻¹. On the contrary, acetone reacts very strongly on the O-defected single crystal and thin film surfaces. In addition to total decomposition evidence of aldolization and cyclization reactions were seen. The thin film of UO₂ was studied by synchrotron light, providing high resolution photoelectron spectroscopy in the core level, and high sensitivity in the both the core and valence band regions. The U5f line was considerably enhanced at grazing angle when compared to that obtained at normal angle for the O-defected surface, showing that the surface is more reduced than the next layers. The U 4f lines indicated the presence of U cations in lower oxidation states than +4 for the O-defected surface. These lines were considerably attenuated upon adsorption of acetone, due to surface oxidation by CO bond dissociation. The reaction pathway for acetone on the O-defected surface is presented, and compared to that of the previously studied acetaldehyde molecule.     

Liquid crystal deposition on poled, single crystalline lithium niobate

For the purpose of elucidating the mechanisms for molecular organization at poled ferroelectric surfaces, single crystalline lithium niobate (LN), ‘Z-cut’ along the (0 0 0 1) plane, has been prepared and characterized and subsequently exposed to liquid crystal molecules. As a model system we chose to study the anchoring of 4-n-octyl-4′-cyanobiphenyl (8CB) to LN. Liquid crystalline films are of interest because of their useful electronic and optical properties as well as chemical sensing attributes. Low-energy electron diffraction (LEED), atomic force microscopy (AFM), surface contact angle measurements (CA), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) were used to characterize the surface of lithium niobate as well as the nature of 8CB films grown on the surface. Atomically flat LN surfaces were prepared as a support for monolayer thick, 8CB molecular domains. 8CB liquid crystal molecules were deposited by an ambient vaporization technique and the films were analyzed using XPS and CA. Understanding electrostatic anchoring mechanisms and thin film organization for this molecule on uniformly poled surfaces allows for a fuller appreciation of how molecular deposition of other polarizable molecules on periodically poled and patterned poled lithium niobate surfaces would occur.     

单链DNA在受限环境中伸展的Monte Carlo模拟

将MonteCarlo方法和键长涨落算法相结合,模拟了受限于两平行平面间的单链DNA分子在外力作用下的伸展以及撤除外力以后弛豫的动力学过程,研究了受限程度对DNA分子的伸展长度及弛豫过程的影响.结果表明,随着受限程度的增加,DNA分子链的构象更加伸展,这主要是由于随着平面间距的减少,DNA分子不同链段之间流体力学相互作用将会被平面屏蔽所致,受限程度不同时DNA分子的弛豫过程进一步证实了这一点.DNA分子的伸展长度(即末端距)随着流速的变化关系与文献给出的实验结果及其对此所做的理论分析是基本一致的.     

Surface atomic distribution and water adsorption on Pt-Co alloys

Density functional theory is used to study surface atomic distributions on slabs of PtCo and Pt₃Co overall compositions, as well as water molecule adsorption on PtCo(1 1 1) and Pt-skin structures. Pt-rich surfaces are energetically favored under vacuum in the PtCo and Pt₃Co alloys. The adsorption trend on the studied structures agrees with the d-band model, with stronger adsorption at higher surface Co composition. The most stable adsorption site for a water molecule on PtCo surfaces is on top of Co atoms, with the dipole vector parallel to the surface. This water/surface interaction is as strong as that of water molecule on Pt(1 1 1), whereas bonding to Pt-skin monolayers is found much weaker than that on Pt(1 1 1). It is found that water interacts mainly through its 1b₁ and 3a₁ orbitals with d orbitals of the Pt(1 1 1), PtCo(1 1 1) and Pt-skin surface atoms. Compared to the sum of the electron densities of the separated systems, the electron density of the water/surface gets depleted along O-Pt on Pt-skin surfaces while it becomes richer in the O-Co bonding region of PtCo.     

MoSi_2(001)表面的氧吸附行为

运用第一原理密度泛函理论方法,首先计算了MoSi_2各清洁表面的表面能,(001)Si-|-Si断面具有较低的表面能,是MoSi_2最可能的解理面;通过生成能及键布居分析研究了单氧原子、双氧原子及氧分子在(001)Si-|-Si断面的吸附行为,发现单氧原子在空位处吸附最稳定,此时O极易与Si结合,得到的Si-O-Si键长及键角与SiO_2的非常接近,表明低浓度下O极易与表面的Si结合生成SiO_2;双氧原子发生空位+顶位吸附时O原子除与Si有强作用外,可与Mo有一定相互作用;氧分子以平行的方式接近空位最有利于吸附,此时氧分子最易分解为氧原子,发生氧原子在空位的吸附.     

The platelet integrin alpha(IIb) beta(3) imaged by atomic force microscopy on model surfaces

The platelet membrane receptor alpha(IIb) beta(3) binds to adsorbed protein ligands including fibrinogen, von Willebrand factor and fibronectin, and is critically important in mediating platelet adhesion to damaged subendothelium and to synthetic biomaterial surfaces. This receptor is a member of the integrin family, a highly prevalent class of heterodimeric molecules consisting of a single alpha and beta subunit. In an ongoing effort to understand the mechanisms underlying platelet adhesion events, high-resolution atomic force microscopy (AFM) under dynamic conditions was used to obtain images of alpha(IIb) beta(3) molecules as well as aggregates of the protein. Images of integrin molecules were obtained by tapping mode AFM under aqueous buffer conditions following adsorption on a series of ultrasmooth model surfaces. On a model hydrophobic surface, detergents stabilizing the protein in solution competed for surface adsorption sites. When this detergent was removed from the system, the protein was predominantly seen as aggregates with head groups pointing outward. A limited number of individual integrin molecules were observed, and were found to have dimensions consistent with those reported previously by electron microscopy studies. Integrin molecules showed weak adhesion to the two hydrophilic surfaces used in the study, although formation of a lipid bilayer around surface-adsorbed molecules improved the resolution. At longer time periods, the integrin molecules embedded in this lipid bilayer exhibited sufficient mobility to form molecular aggregates. The structural measurements described in this study not only reveal three-dimensional features of the molecule, they represent an important step towards dynamic adsorption experiments and visualizing the integrin interacting with surface-adsorbed proteins as in biomaterial-induced thrombogenesis.     

Imaging polycrystalline and smoke MgO surfaces with atomic force microscopy: a case study of high resolution image on a polycrystalline oxide

Atomic force microscopy in contact, non-contact and in high resolution modes have been used to image MgO powder samples, obtained at different degree of sintering, starting from Mg(OH)₂ decomposition or obtained in form of smoke. From high resolution AFM images of MgO smoke, the lattice periodicity on regular surfaces has been revealed for the first time, under ambient conditions. The high surface perfection of the microcrystals has been further confirmed by HRTEM analysis. To obtain more information on the local structure of the single faces, in terms of type and distribution of the surface active sites, the adsorption of a simple probe molecule (CO) on such surfaces has been investigated by means of FTIR spectroscopy.     

Spontaneous surface magnetisation of single crystal MnF2 in the antiferromagnetic state

Spontaneous magnetisation of (100) and (010) surfaces of single crystal MnF₂ in the antiferromagnetic state has been discovered. The sign of the surface magnetisation is determined by the difference in dielectric constants of MnF₂ and ambient matter: magnetisation is directed to the substance with smaller . Received 28 August 1998 and Received in final form 15 December 1998