The interaction of water with solid surfaces: Fundamental aspects

The purpose of this review is to compare and discuss recent experimental and theoretical results in the field of H2O-solid interactions. We emphasize studies of low (submonolayer) coverages of water on well-characterized, single-crystal surfaces of metals, semiconductors and oxides. We discuss the factors which influence dissociative versus associative adsorption pathways. When H2O adsorbs molecularly, it tends to form three-dimensional hydrogen-bonded clusters, even at fractional monolayer coverages, because the strength of the attractive interaction between two molecules is comparable to that of the substrate-H2O bond. The template effect of the substrate is important in determining both the local orientation and long-range order of H2O molecules in these clusters. The influence of surface additive atoms (e.g., O, Br, Na, K) and also surface imperfections (e.g. steps and defects) on the surface structure and chemistry of H2O is examined in detail. Some results on single-crystal substrates are compared with earlier measurements of H2O adsorption on high-area materials.