The general traits of inelastic electron scattering by the adsorbed system

TL;DR

This paper investigates inelastic electron scattering on adsorbed Pt(100) surfaces using spectroscopy and DOS calculations, revealing two key channels related to substrate excitation and plasmon oscillations, with implications for molecular-level surface analysis.

Contribution

It introduces a novel mechanism of electron transitions involving substrate core level excitation and plasmon oscillations, providing a new approach to analyze adsorbed layers at the molecular level.

Findings

Identification of two electron consumption channels related to substrate excitation and plasmons.

Demonstration of the role of one-dimensional DOS at the vacuum level in electron transitions.

Proposition of a general regularity in electron-solid interactions for surface fingerprinting.

Abstract

Inelastic electron scattering by the adsorbate covered Pt(100) single crystal surface is studied by Disappearance Potential Spectroscopy and density of states (DOS) calculations. Two peculiar channels of elastic electron consumption are highlighted, both related to the substrate core level excitation coupled separately with two particular electron transitions. The first channel affects the adsorbed layer and enables to reveal the valence state structure of the adsorbed species as well as the substrate DOS. The second one includes the multiple plasmon oscillations. The proposed mechanism of electron transitions assumes that one-dimensional DOS at the vacuum level is an additional spot for location of excited electrons, along with vacant DOS at the Fermi level. Observed phenomena are supposed to be a general regularity of electron-solid interaction and a useful tool for fingerprinting the adsorbed layer at molecular level.