RESUMEN
This tutorial discusses the predominant methods available for surface mass spectrometry (MS) of molecular species: thermal desorption spectroscopy, laser desorption MS, secondary ion MS, post-ionization of desorbed neutrals and surface matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization. Each of these has the capability to analyze molecular species that are chemisorbed, physisorbed, covalently bound to or the predominant component of a solid surface. These surface MS methods are briefly described, then their capabilities demonstrated using data predominantly from the authors' work. Comparisons are made with related methods in conventional MS. A very brief discussion is provided on the importance of complementing surface MS data with data from x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and other surface analysis tools.