Festkörperflächen

Festkörperflächen, also known as solid surfaces, represent the interfaces between a solid material and its surroundings, which can be another solid, a liquid, a gas, or a vacuum. These surfaces are fundamentally different from the bulk of the solid due to their unique atomic structure and electronic properties. At the surface, atoms are not fully coordinated by neighboring atoms, leading to a higher surface energy. This can result in surface reconstruction, where the arrangement of surface atoms differs from the bulk lattice structure to minimize this energy.

The properties of solid surfaces are of significant importance in many scientific and technological fields. Surface phenomena play a crucial role in catalysis, where reactions often occur preferentially on the surface of a solid catalyst. In material science, surface properties dictate adhesion, friction, wear, and corrosion resistance. In electronics, the behavior of semiconductor devices is heavily influenced by the properties of their surfaces and interfaces. Techniques such as scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) allow for the imaging and manipulation of individual atoms on surfaces, providing atomic-scale insights into surface structure and behavior. Surface science is a multidisciplinary field that investigates these phenomena, employing a range of experimental and theoretical methods to understand and control the behavior of solid surfaces.