Most of us heard the story of the blind men and the elephant as children. In this old tale from India each man in a group of blind men touches a different part of an elephant. Each walks away with a different experience and subsequently argues that the elephant is like a spear (the tusk), a thick rope (the trunk), a wall (the flank), etc. Only the combination of their stories would have provided a complete, or at least more complete, picture of what an elephant really is. In some sense this is the story of surface analysis, which lacks a single analytical tool that can provide comprehensive information about a surface or interface. We rely on X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) for surface elemental analysis and oxidation state information, spectroscopic ellipsometry for film thicknesses and optical constants, contact angle measurements to understand surface wetting, Fourier transfer infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) to reveal functional group information, negative and positive ion time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS)to provide molecular fragments and trace element detection, Rutherford backscattering (RBS) for elemental composition and atom distributions in moderately thick films (typically at least a few nanometers), nuclear reaction analysis (NRA) for absolute quantitation of atomic compositions of thin films, atomic force microscopy (AFM) for surface roughness, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to reveal surface features and patterning, BET (Brunauer, Emmett, Teller) isotherm measurements to provide surface areas and pore sizes, etc. Combining such information typically provides the most complete view of a surface or interface. The purpose of my talk is to discuss a problem that illustrates the importance of using multiple analytical methods to better understand surfaces and interfaces -an important conclusion of my talk is that no single instrument could have provided the insight into the problem that was gained from the combination of techniques. In particular, we are currently developing and/or modifying highly stable materials based on diamond, zirconia, and/or graphite, which can withstand extreme pH values, temperatures, and/or other harsh chemical conditions, as stationary phases or supports for liquid chromatography.1-3At present this is an important topic in separations science -about 410
