Abstract
Study of metal ion adsorption in aqueous solutions using a spin‐contamination method has shown that 
can effectively prevent 
adsorption onto the hydrophilic, oxidized silicon surface. In ammonia‐hydrogen peroxide‐water solution (APM) the relatively low 
adsorption on the wet oxidized silicon surface can be explained by its competition for adsorption sites with 
, which is the dominant cation in APM. 
prevents 
adsorption onto the oxidized silicon surface, by an ion‐exchange mechanism analogous to that of 
in acidic solutions. The equilibrium constant governing the adsorption of 
is comparable to, or larger than, that of 
, meaning that 
is at least as effective as 
in removing metals from the oxidized silicon surface and in keeping metal ions off the surface. © 1999 The Electrochemical Society. All rights reserved.