Molecular beam studies of gas-surface collision dynamics

Recent progress in the application of supersonic molecular beam techniques to the study of gas-surface interfacial phenomena is reviewed. The experimental and theoretical studies discussed examine fundamental issues regarding both non-reactive and reactive scattering. Topics discussed include elastic scattering (thermal energy atom scattering and diffractive selective adsorption), inelastic scattering, trapping-desorption, molecular chemisorption and desorption, dissociative chemisorption (direct collisional activation, precursor-mediated dissociation, and collision-induced dissociation of adsorbed species) and chemical reactions at surfaces. The review is organized around dynamical variables rather than particular gas-surface systems to emphasize the underlying physical principles governing gas-surface interactions. An index is provided at the beginning for the reader interested in specific gas-surface systems.