  In this work we present an application of the lambda-phi^4 field theoretical
model to the adsorption of atoms and molecules on metallic surfaces - the
electrochemical deposition. The usual approach to this system consists in the
computational simulation using Monte Carlo techniques of an effective
lattice-gas Hamiltonian. We construct an effective model towards a comparison
between the lattice-gas Hamiltonian and the discrete version of the
lambda-phi^4 Hamiltonian, obtaining the relationships between the model
parameters and electrochemical quantities. The lambda-phi^4 model is studied in
the mean field approximation, and the results are fitted and compared to
numerical simulated and experimental data.
