Observation of low kinetic energy electrons at high pressures

What is it about?

Electron energy associated with valence band orbitals is very low, and it is usually below 10-12 eV. Very high vacuum is required to observe such low energy electron, as they can undergo collision with background gas molecules and lose part/full energy. Nonetheless, can we observe these electrons under high pressures, where the chances of collisions are plenty ? Yes, we can observe and this is all about our work published in Analytical Chemistry.

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Why is it important?

Valence band precisely decides the energy of different orbitals/bands of any solid surface or gas molecules, and what is the energy overlap among them. To understand the chemical bonding, such measurements/results are important. What happens to the same chemical bond, under working/application conditions, such as catalysis, nanomaterials, is of paramount importance to understand and improve the material performance. Our work explores the evolution of VB in the reaction/working environment.