The introduction of new technology such as
low-energy electron diffraction revolutionised the study of surfaces in the 1950s and 1960s. However, early studies were limited to surfaces such as silicon, important for its electrical properties. In contrast, Somorjai was interested in surfaces such as
platinum known for its chemical properties. Somorjai discovered that the defects on surfaces are where
catalytic reactions take place. When these defects break, new bonds are formed between atoms leading to complex organic compounds such as
naphtha to be converted into gasoline as an example. These findings led to greater understanding of subjects such as adhesion, lubrication, friction and adsorption. His research also has important implications such as
nanotechnology. In the 1990s, Somorjai started working with physicist
Y. R. Shen on developing a technique known as
Sum Frequency Generation Spectroscopy to study surface reactions without the need for a vacuum chamber. He is also studying surface reactions in nanotechnology at the atomic and molecular level using
atomic force microscopy and
scanning tunnelling microscopy, both of which can be used without vacuum. Somorjai's expertise in surfaces was used as a consultant to the
2002 Winter Olympics where he gave advice on how to make ice-skating surfaces as fast as possible. Somorjai's research had shed new light on ice, demonstrating that skaters skated on a top layer of rapidly vibrating molecules, rather than on a layer of liquid water on top of the ice acting as a lubricant, which had previously been the generally accepted explanation for the slipperiness of ice. During his career, Somorjai published more than one thousand papers and three textbooks on surface chemistry and heterogeneous catalysis. He was the most-often cited person in the fields of surface chemistry and catalysis. ==Death==