The role of precursor states in adsorption, surface reactions and catalysis

Among the many concepts which have been developed in surface science to explain the nature of adsorption, the role of weakly-held intermediate states, so-called precursor states, is one of the most important. The kinetics of precursor-mediated adsorption is described, together with examples showing how significant such effects can be, not just in adsorption itself, but also in surface reactions on crystals and on model-supported catalysts.