Theoretical Simulations of Reactive and Nonreactive Scattering of Light Diatomic Molecules from Metal Surfaces: Past, Present, and Future

In everyday life we are surrounded by surfaces and, therefore, by phenomena involving molecule-surface interactions. Furthermore, the processes of heterogeneous catalysis, which are governed by molecule-surface interactions, are of huge practical importance, because the production of most synthetic compounds involves catalytic processes, which explains the tremendous effort that surface science scientists have invested to understand the basic principles underlying elementary interactions between light molecules and surfaces. This effort was recognized in 2007 with the Nobel prize in chemistry awarded to Gerhard Ertl. Here we revise some of the most relevant studies performed so far in this field. We also point out the major challenges that the surface science community may face in this field in the years to come