15 research outputs found
The Kantian Framework of Complementarity
A growing number of commentators have, in recent years, noted the important
affinities in the views of Immanuel Kant and Niels Bohr. While these
commentators are correct, the picture they present of the connections between
Bohr and Kant is painted in broad strokes; it is open to the criticism that
these affinities are merely superficial. In this essay, I provide a closer,
structural, analysis of both Bohr's and Kant's views that makes these
connections more explicit. In particular, I demonstrate the similarities
between Bohr's argument, on the one hand, that neither the wave nor the
particle description of atomic phenomena pick out an object in the ordinary
sense of the word, and Kant's requirement, on the other hand, that both
'mathematical' (having to do with magnitude) and 'dynamical' (having to do with
an object's interaction with other objects) principles must be applicable to
appearances in order for us to determine them as objects of experience. I argue
that Bohr's 'Complementarity interpretation' of quantum mechanics, which views
atomic objects as idealizations, and which licenses the repeal of the principle
of causality for the domain of atomic physics, is perfectly compatible with,
and indeed follows naturally from a broadly Kantian epistemological framework.Comment: Slight change between this version and previous in the wording of the
first paragraph of the section 'Complementarity
Using Photoelectron Spectroscopy and Quantum Mechanics to Determine d-Band Energies of Metals for Catalytic Applications
The valence band structures (VBS) of eight transition metals (Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Pd, Ag, Pt, Au) were investigated by photoelectron spectroscopy (PES) using He I, He II, and monochromatized Al Kα excitation. The influence of final states, photoionization cross-section, and adsorption of residual gas molecules in an ultrahigh vacuum environment are discussed in terms of their impact on the VBS. We find that VBSs recorded with monochromatized Al Kα radiation are most closely comparable to the ground state density of states (DOS) derived from quantum mechanics calculations. We use the Al Kα-excited PES measurements to correct the energy scale of the calculated ground-state DOS to approximate the “true” ground-state d-band structure. Finally, we use this data to test the d-band center model commonly used to predict the electronic-property/catalytic-activity relationship of metals. We find that a simple continuous dependence of activity on d-band center position is not supported by our results (both experimentally and computationally)
Reply to “Comment on ‘Using Photoelectron Spectroscopy and Quantum Mechanics to Determine d-Band Energies of Metals for Catalytic Applications’”
We wholeheartedly agree with the majority of statements
made in the comment-that an understanding of the
electronic structure of catalyst surfaces to understand their
catalytic activity is one of the most important subjects within
the field of catalysis research, that a simplified approach to
correlating electronic structure and activity would be desirable,
that our study testing, among other things, such a correlation is
therefore of “significant importance”, that, however, such a
simplified correlation is not at all straightforward, and hence an
oversimplified “d-band center model” is not really adequate to
describe the complicated processes involved in catalytic activity.
The comment also gives a nice example of final state effects in
photoemission spectra (a satellite structure 6 eV below the
Fermi energy of Fe, Co, and Ni), which obscure an
experimental determination of the ground state d-band center
(as described in our paper). Finally, the comment gives a good
summary of the bibliography of the comment’s authors in this
research field
Using Photoelectron Spectroscopy and Quantum Mechanics to Determine d‑Band Energies of Metals for Catalytic Applications
The valence band structures (VBS) of eight transition
metals (Fe,
Co, Ni, Cu, Pd, Ag, Pt, Au) were investigated by photoelectron spectroscopy
(PES) using He I, He II, and monochromatized Al Kα excitation.
The influence of final states, photoionization cross-section, and
adsorption of residual gas molecules in an ultrahigh vacuum environment
are discussed in terms of their impact on the VBS. We find that VBSs
recorded with monochromatized Al Kα radiation are most closely
comparable to the ground state density of states (DOS) derived from
quantum mechanics calculations. We use the Al Kα-excited PES
measurements to correct the energy scale of the calculated ground-state
DOS to approximate the “true” ground-state d-band structure.
Finally, we use this data to test the d-band center model commonly
used to predict the electronic-property/catalytic-activity relationship
of metals. We find that a simple continuous dependence of activity
on d-band center position is not supported by our results (both experimentally
and computationally)