Surface mass spectrometry of molecular species

This tutorial discusses the predominant methods available for surface mass spectrometry (MS) of molecular species: thermal desorption spectroscopy, la ser desorption MS, secondary ion MS, post-ionization of desorbed neutrals a nd surface matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization. Each of these has t he capability to analyze molecular species that are chemisorbed, physisorbe d, covalently bound to or the predominant component of a solid surface. The se surface MS methods are briefly described, then their capabilities demons trated using data predominantly from the authors' work. Comparisons are mad e with related methods in conventional MS. A very brief discussion is provi ded on the importance of complementing surface MS data with data from x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and other surface analysis tools. Copyright (C) 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.