Surface chemistry

Surface chemistry is chemical phenomena that occur at the interface of two phases, usually between a gas and a solid or between a liquid and a solid.

One important aspect of surface chemistry studies is to determine whether a molecule attaches itself to a surface by chemisorption or by physisorption. Surface chemistry is of particular importance to the field of heterogeneous catalysis.

The advent of scanning probe microscopies like atomic force microscopy[?] (AFM) and scanning-tunneling microscopy (STM) has stimulated a considerable increase in research activity in surface chemistry. This increase is part of a more general interest in nanotechnology.

Irving Langmuir was one of the founders of this field.