The interaction of water with solid surfaces: fundamental aspects revisited

Water is perhaps the most important and most pervasive chemical on our planet. The influence of water permeates virtually all areas of biochemical, chemical and physical importance, and is especially evident in phenomena occurring at the interfaces of solid surfaces. Since 1987, when Thiel and Madey (TM) published their review titled ‘The interaction of water with solid surfaces: fundamental aspects’ in Surface Science Reports, there has been considerable progress made in further understanding the fundamental interactions of water with solid surfaces. In the decade and a half, the increased capability of surface scientists to probe at the molecular-level has resulted in more detailed information of the properties of water on progressively more complicated materials and under more stringent conditions. This progress in understanding the properties of water on solid surfaces is evident both in areas for which surface science methodology has traditionally been strong (catalysis and electronic materials) and also in new areas not traditionally studied by surface scientists such as electrochemistry, photoconversion, mineralogy, adhesion, sensors, atmospheric chemistry and tribology. Researchers in all these fields grapple with very basic questions regarding the interactions of water with solid surfaces such as how is water adsorbed, what are the chemical and electrostatic forces that constitute the adsorbed layer, how is water thermally or non-thermally activated and how do coadsorbates influence these properties of water. The attention paid to these and other fundamental questions in the past decade and a half has been immense. In this review, experimental studies published since the TM review are assimilated with those covered by TM to provide a current picture of the fundamental interactions of water with solid surfaces.