The electronic factor in the act of adsorption of ions on a metal surface

The physical mechanism of the electron contribution to the electrochemical potential (intrinsic energy) of ions adsorbed on a metal surface is studied. The problem is reduced to consideration of the single-electron binding state in the fields of two attractors. For the bond between the anion and metal, the attraction centers are the potential of the atomic core of the anion and the potential reflecting the effects of interaction of the excess quantum charge with plasma degrees of freedom of the metal and formation of a surface axial plasmaron. On the average, the above attractors are neutral and are characterized by a finite range of action. The intrinsic energy of the cation of the metal surface depends on the energy of the valence electron in Coulombic fields of the cation itself, on the potential of the surface axial plasmahole, and on the energy of the mutual Coulombic repulsion of the above electron-attraction centers. Expressions are proposed for electronbinding terms of ions with a metal point by analogy with the mechanisms of formation of chemical σ- and π-bonds with partial charge transfer in molecular compounds.