Cooperation and competition between magnetism and chemisorption

Abstract

Chemisorption on ferromagnetic and non-magnetic surfaces is discussed within the Newns–Anderson–Grimley model along with the Stoner model of ferromagnetism. In the case of ferromagnetic surfaces, the adsorption energy is formulated in terms of the change in surface magnetic moments. Using such a formulation, we address the issue of how an adsorbate's binding strength depends on the magnetic moments of the surface and how the adsorption process reduces/enhances the magnetic moments of the surface. Our results indicate a possible scaling relationship of adsorption energy in terms of surface magnetic moments. In the case of non-magnetic surfaces, we formulate a modified Stoner criterion and discuss the condition for the appearance of magnetism due to chemisorption on an otherwise non-magnetic surface.