Surface science experiments which had been performed in order to understand the elementary surface processes of model catalytic reactions at the atomic level were reviewed. The focus was on experiments performed with scanning tunneling microscopy and atomic force microscopy which had represented, in some cases, real breakthroughs in the understanding of these phenomena. Possible experimental techniques were described which might give a more in-depth understanding of the elementary processes which were the basis of complex surface phenomena.

Atomic Description of Elementary Surface Processes - Diffusion and Dynamics. F.Rosei, R.Rosei: Surface Science, 2002, 500[1-3], 395-413