An Investigation into the Hydration and Growth of Ice on Metal Surfaces

Mistry, Kallum (2023) An Investigation into the Hydration and Growth of Ice on Metal Surfaces. PhD thesis, University of Liverpool.

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Abstract

Up to now, our picture of what a flat surface looks like has been dominated by the assumption that it is atomically smooth, containing an ordered array of regularly spaced atoms. However, in most real-life cases, metal surfaces will never be entirely flat, they will contain surface defects, such as steps, and more reactive open-faced terraces. Regardless of this, the majority of studies consider such defects to be a part of the background, and therefore little is known about how water interacts at these sites, and whether they play an important role in processes such as water dissociation. In more recent years, close examination of surfaces and their structure using Scanning Tunnelling Microscopy (STM) has shown this to be the case, revealing that the surfaces will inevitably contain some form of surface roughening on the atomic scale, known as defects. Understanding how these defect sites influence the behaviour of water is important for catalysis, and existing technologies that use water as a renewable resource. In this thesis, we will investigate various metal faces using Temperature Programmed Desorption (TPD), low-current Low Energy Electron Diffraction and Scanning Tunnelling Microscopy to help develop our understanding of how different open and stepped metal surfaces can influence the behaviour of water compared to surfaces that are considered to be flat, or more inert. As well as this, we will discuss the idea of how different step sites, whether ordered or disordered can influence the composition and structure of water on a stepped surface compared to other metal-water systems reported previously.

Item Type:	Thesis (PhD)
Divisions:	Faculty of Science and Engineering > School of Physical Sciences
Depositing User:	Symplectic Admin
Date Deposited:	30 Jun 2023 15:08
Last Modified:	30 Jun 2023 15:09
DOI:	10.17638/03171215
Supervisors:	Hodgson, Andrew
URI:	https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/id/eprint/3171215