Abstract
Thermal desorption spectroscopy (TDS) is an important technique for investigation of adsorption, absorption, and desorption behaviors of atoms and molecules on surfaces. We briefly summarize the general procedure of TDS in surface science studies, and then we introduce our recent study of hydrogen transport across a Pd-Au alloy surface measured by TDS as an example. By combining the TDS data with other surface analysis, we found that hydrogen penetrates and desorbs through a site related to surface Pd atoms. We also demonstrate a molecular cap effect of CO, where a small amount of CO adsorption greatly changes the hydrogen absorption and desorption behavior by blocking the entrance and exit site.
