Acid–base characterisation of flat oxide-covered metal surfaces

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This paper gives a brief description of the experimental methods which can be used to determine the main parameters characteristic of the acid/base properties of flat oxide-covered metal surfaces, either at a macroscopic scale (point of zero charge, isoelectric point, surface charge…) or at a molecular level (identification of the acid/base nature of the reaction sites, strengths of acid/base interactions…). It will be shown that, even though a global description of acid–base properties in terms of zero-point charge or isoelectric point might prove to be a useful parameter for characterisation of a solid surface, a localised description at an atom- or molecular-size of the nature and the strength of the reactive sites is required for the explanation of molecular events involved in the acid–base interactions.