Transition States for Surface-Catalyzed Chemistry

Fluorine substituent effects have been used to probe the nature of the transition states for the several elementary reaction steps occurring on metal surfaces. The reactions described include beta-hydrogen elimination in adsorbed alkoxide and alkyl groups, coupling of alkyl groups, and dehalogenation of alkyl chloride and iodides. The substituent effect method can provide a connection between heterogeneous catalysis, surface science, and computational molecular simulation of surface reactions.