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Surface science or surface chemistry is the study of physical and chemical phenomena that occur at the interface of two phases, between a gas, usually the atmosphere, and a solid or between a liquid and a solid. Surface chemical research is closely related to surface functionalization, which aims at modifying the chemical composition of a surface by incorporation of selected elements or functional groups that produce various desired effects or improvements in the the properties of the surface or interface. The adhesion of gas or liquid molecules to the surface is known as adsorption, which can is due to either chemisorption or by physisorption. Surface science is of particular importance to the field of heterogeneous catalysis. The study and analysis of any surface involves both physical and chemical analysis techniques. Modern physical analysis methods use AFM and related SPM methods. Modern chemical analysis methods that analyze the topmost 1-10nm of the surface use XPS (ESCA), AES (Auger), ISS, ToF-SIMS and other surface chemical analysis methods included in the list of materials analysis methods. The advent of scanning probe microscopies like atomic force microscopy (AFM) and scanning-tunneling microscopy (STM) has stimulated considerable increase into the measurement of the physical structure of the surface of many materials. This increase is part of a more general interest in nanotechnology. The behaviour of a surface or interface within a solution based interface is dependent on the surface charge, dipoles, energies and their distribution within the electrical double layer. Irving Langmuir was one of the founders of this field, and the scientific journal, Langmuir, on surface science bears his name. The Langmuir adsorption equation is used to model monolayer adsorption where all surface adsorption sites have the same affinity for the adsorbing species.
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