Lateral interactions in the thermal desorption of H2 from clean Cu/Ni(110) alloy surfaces

The adsorption of hydrogen on a clean Cu10%/Ni90% (110) alloy single crystal was studied using flash desorption spectroscopy (FDS), Auger electron spectroscopy (AES), and work function measurements. Surface compositions were varied from 100% Ni to 35% Ni. The hydrogen chemisorption on a-surface of 100% nickel revealed strong attractive interactions between the hydrogen atoms in accordance with previous work on Ni(100). Three desorption states (β₁, β₂ and α) appeared in the desorption spectra. The highest temperature (α) state was occupied only after the initial population of the β₂-state. As the amount of copper was increased in the nickel substrate, desorption from the higher energy binding α-state was reduced, indicating a decrease in the attractive interactions among hydrogen atoms. The hydrogen coverage at saturation was not affected by the addition of copper to the nickel substrate until the copper concentration was greater than 25% at which a sharp reduction in saturation coverage occurred. This phenomenon was apparently due to the adsorption of hydrogen on Ni atoms followed by occupation of NiNi and CuNi bridged adsorption sites, while occupation of CuCu sites was restricted due to an energy barrier to migration.     

LCAO studies of hydrogen chemisorption on nickel: I. Tight-binding calculations for adsorption on periodic surfaces

The model we have used to study hydrogen chemisorption on nickel surfaces is a tightbinding Extended Hückel method applied to finite (periodic) crystals up to about 250 atoms, the non-orthogonal basis set comprising five 3d orbitals, one 4s orbital and three 4p orbitals per atom. After calculating the band structure of fcc nickel, we have examined, by this model, the effect of the (100), (110) and (111) surfaces on the local density of states and the charge distribution. The results agree closely with moment calculations of the density of states in semi-infinite crystals and with experimental (XPS, UPS and INS) spectra. Extensive studies have been made of the influence of adsorption on the (partial) densities of states in order to illuminate the nature of the chemisorption bond. Particularly, we have concluded that both the 3d electrons and the conduction electrons take part in this bond. Equilibrium positions for adsorption on various sites have been determined and the adsorption energy has been computed and compared with experimental data. We find that the stability of adsorption decreases in the order (110) > (100) > (111) and Atop > Bridge > Centred.     

Molecular orbital study of the chemisorption of carbon monoxide on a tungsten (100) surface

The adsorption energies of carbon monoxide chemisorbed at various sites on a tungsten (100) surface have been calculated by extended Hückel molecular orbital theory (EHMO). The concept of a “surface molecule” in which CO is bonded to an array of tungsten atoms W_n has been employed. Dissociative adsorption in which C occupies a four-fold, five-coordination site and O occupies either a four- or two-fold site has been found to be the most stable form for CO on a W surface. Stable one-fold and two-fold sites of molecularly adsorbed CO have also been found in which the CO group is normal to the surface plane and the C atom is nearest the surface. Adsorption energies and molecular orbitals for the stable molecularly and dissociatively adsobred CO sites are compared with the experimental data on various types of adsorbed CO, i.e., virgin-, α-, and β-CO. Models are suggested for each of these adsorption types. The strongest bonding interactions occur between the CO 5σ orbital and the totally symmetric 5d and 6s orbitals of the W_n cluster. Possible mechanisms for conversion of molecularly adsorbed CO to dissociatively adsorbed CO are proposed and the corresponding activation energies are estimated.     

Theoretical study of the chemisorption of H2 on boron cluster surfaces

“Ab initio” RHF calculations are used to investigate the chemisorption of a H₂ molecule on boron cluster surfaces. Potential energy surfaces and electron charge difference density plots are given. The results obtained indicate that the H₂ molecule in certain cases is dissociated on the surface, and that the hydrogen atoms are individually bound to different boron atoms. It is also found that the chemisorbed hydrogen atoms can move almost freely in certain directions parallel to the boron surface.     

Activation de l'hydrogène moléculaire par une petite particule de nickel

The electronic structure of an icosaedral cluster of 13 nickel atoms is studied using an Extended Hückel method. Near the highest occupied level at ?7.65 eV, h and t orbitals are accidentally degenerate so that the fundamental state possesses a high spin multiplicity (2S + 1 = 9) accounting for the magnetism of the particule. We have considered several geometries for a hydrogen molecule approaching the cluster at a minimum distance of 1.47 Å. In all cases the H-H bond is weakened because of electron transfer from the nickel towards the hydrogen atoms and partial filling of the antibonding orbital of h₂. During the increase of the H-H distance the weakening is easier than in the absence of a nickel catalyst leading to the dissociative adsorption of the molecule. The activation mechanism of H₂ requires participation of both the s and d orbitals of the metal and leads to a lowering of the spin multiplicity. Finally, we have shown that a dissociative adsorption is obtained when the H₂ molecule approaches a triangular face. After breaking of the H-H bond, the more stable system corresponds to atomic H adsorption on two opposite vertices.     

Benzene adsorption on nickel (100) and (111) faces studied by leed and high resolution electron energy loss spectroscopy

Studies of benzene (C₆H₆ and C₆D₆) adsorption have been performed by high resolution electron energy loss spectroscopy (HRELS) and LEED experiments on nickel (100) and (111) single crystal faces at room temperature. Chemisorption induces ordered structures, c(4 × 4) on Ni(100) and (2√3 × 2√3)R30° on Ni(111), and typical energy loss spectra with 4 loss peaks accurately identified with the strongest infrared vibration bands of the gazeous molecules. Benzene chemisorption preserves the aromatic character of the molecule and involves respectively 8 nickel surface atoms on the (100) face and 12 on the (111) face by adsorbed molecule. The interaction takes place via the π electrons of the ring. Significant shifts of the CHτ bending and CH stretching vibrations show a weakening of the CH bonds due to the formation of the chemisorption bond and a coupling of H atoms with the nickel substrate.     

Structural,energetic, and electronic properties of hydrogenated aluminum arsenide clusters

The chemisorptions of hydrogen on aluminum arsenide clusters are studied with density functional theory (DFT). The on-top site is identified to be the most favorable chemisorptions site for hydrogen. And the Al-top site is the preferred one in the most cases for one hydrogen adsorption in (AlAs) _n (n = 2, 5, 6, 8–15) clusters. Top on the neighboring Al and As atoms ground-state structures are found for two hydrogen adsorption on (AlAs) _n except for (AlAs)₂ cluster. The Al–As bond lengths decrease generally as the size of the cluster increases. And there is a slight increase in the mean Al–As bond lengths after H adsorption on the lowest-energy sites of the most AlAs clusters. In general, the binding energy of H and 2H are both found to decrease with an increase in the cluster size. And the result shows that large binding energies (BE) of a single hydrogen atom on small AlAs clusters and large highest occupied and lowest unoccupied molecular-orbital gaps for (AlAs)H and (AlAs)₃H make these species behaving like magic clusters. Calculations on two hydrogen atoms on (AlAs) _n clusters show large BE for (AlAs) _n H₂ with an odd number of n. The stability of these complexes is further studied from the fragmentation energies. (AlAs)₇H₂ and (AlAs)₉H₂ clusters are again suggested to be the stable clusters. On the other hand both the fragmentation energy and the binding energy for (AlAs)₁₃H are close to the lowest values.     

Adsorption of water molecule on (001) and (110) surfaces of MgH2

First principle calculations have been performed to explore the adsorption characteristics of water molecule on (001) and (110) surfaces of magnesium hydride. The stable adsorption configurations of water molecule on the surfaces of MgH₂ were identified by comparing the total energies of different adsorption states. The (110) surface shows a higher reactivity with H₂O molecule owing to the larger adsorption energy than the (001) surface, and the adsorption mechanisms of water molecule on the two surfaces were clarified from electronic structures. For both (001) and (110) surface adsorptions, the O p orbitals overlapped with the Mg s and p orbitals leading to interactions between O and Mg atoms and weakening the O–H bonds in water molecule. Due to the difference of the bonding strength between O and Mg atoms in the (001) and (110) surfaces, the adsorption energies and configurations of water molecule on the two surfaces are significantly different.     

Hydrogen adsorption on Ni (100)

The adsorption of hydrogen on the (100) plane of nickel at room temperature has been investigated using the technique of flash desorption spectroscopy. It is shown that no variation in the adsorption enthalpy of 23.1 kcal/mole occurs during the chemical cleaning of the surface by repeated oxidation and reduction. The number of adsorption sites does however increase to 3.3×10¹⁴/cm² during this process. Determination of the partition functions of the adsorbed species and of the activated complex indicates that the hydrogen atoms are localised on specific adsorption sites but that greater liberty exists in the activated complex. Finally the experimental desorption spectra may be described using a model with a repulsive interaction of 400 cal/mole between nearest neighbours.     

First-principles calculations of hydrogen molecule adsorption on Ti (0 0 0 1)-(2 × 1) surface

Adsorption of H₂ molecule on the Ti (0 0 0 1)-(2 × 1) surface was studied by density functional theory with generalized gradient approximation (GGA). The parallel and vertical absorption cases were investigated in detail by adsorption energy and electronic structure analysis, we obtained three stable configurations of FCC-FCC (the two H atoms adsorption on the two adjacent fcc sites of Ti (0 0 0 1) surface, respectively), HCP-HCP (the two H atoms adsorption on the two adjacent hcp sites of Ti (0 0 0 1) surface, respectively) and FCC-HCP (the one H atom adsorption on the fcc site and the other adsorption on the near hcp site) based on the six different parallel adsorption sites after the H₂ molecule dissociates. However, all the end configurations of four vertical adsorption sites were unstable, H₂ molecule was very easy to desorb from Ti surface. The H-H bond breaking and Ti-H bond forming result from the H₂ molecule dissociation. H-H bond breaking length ranges from 1.9 Å to 2.3 Å for different adsorption configurations due to the strong Ti-H bond forming. The H₂ dissociative approach and the end stable configurations formation in parallel adsorption processes are attributed to the quantum mechanics steering effects.     

Structures of Pt clusters on graphene by first-principles calculations

The interactions between Pt_n clusters (n?13) and a graphene sheet have been investigated by first-principles calculations based on density functional theory. For single Pt-atom and Pt₂-dimer adsorptions, the stable adsorption sites are bridge sites between neighboring carbon atoms. When the number of Pt atoms in a cluster increases, the Pt-C interaction energy per contacting Pt atom becomes smaller. For smaller clusters (3?n?7), the adsorption as a vertical planar cluster is more stable than that as parallel planar or three-dimensional (3D) clusters, due to the stability of a planar configuration itself and the stronger planar-edge/graphene interaction, while the adsorption as a parallel planer cluster becomes stable for larger cluster (n?7) via the deformation of the planar configuration so as to attain the planar-edge/graphene contact. For much larger clusters (n?10), the adsorption as a 3D cluster becomes the most stable due to the stability of the 3D configuration itself as well as substantial Pt-C interactions of edge or corner Pt atoms. The interfacial interaction between a Pt cluster and graphene seriously depends on the shape and size of a cluster and the manner of contact on a graphene sheet.     

X-ray and UV photoelectron-spectroscopic studies of pyridine adsorbed on evaporated nickel and palladium in the temperature range 140–385 k

The states of pyridine adsorbed on evaporated nickel and palladium films have been investigated as a function of temperature in the range 140–385 K by means of X-ray and UV photoelectron spectroscopy. At ～ 140 K, pyridine “N-bonded” on the metal surfaces gives C 1s and N 1s peaks whose binding energies are very close to those for condensed pyridine and “N-bonded” pyridine on pre-oxidized nickel. The high-lying valence orbitals, 2b₁ (π) and 1a₂ (π) + 7a₁ (n), of pyridine show shifts similar to those for the “N-bonded” molecule on pre-oxidized nickel. At ～ 290 K, “π-bonded” pyridine shows large shifts in the C 1s and N 1s peaks and in the high-lying valence orbitals, as observed for “π-bonded” benzene on nickel. The assignments of the adsorbed states are supported by work-function change data. A large proportion of pyridine converts from the “N-bonded” to the “π-bonded” form between 220 and 290 K. Formation of “α-pyridyl” is suggested at ～ 375 K on nickel.     

CNDO calculations of nickel atom clusters

CNDO molecular orbital calculations for nickel atom clusters containing from one to thirteen atoms in various geometric arrangements are presented. The parameters were selected so that an octahedral Ni₆ cluster had an equilibrium inter-nuclear distance, d band occupancy, binding energy, Fermi level, and d band width approximating those of bulk nickel. For clusters with a given number of atoms the stability always increased in the order linear < planar < three-dimensional cluster. The general assumption that the binding energy per atom in metal clusters is proportional to the number of nearest neighbours is supported by these CNDO calculations although this relation is certainly not exact for small clusters. Examination of the calculated orbitals does not indicate a separation of the d band into one part made up from atomic t_2g orbitals and another from e_g orbitals. Overall the CNDO method appears to present a reasonable approach to calculating properties of small metal clusters.     

“Magnetic dead layers” on chemisorption at ferromagnetic surfaces

Chemisorption induced “magnetic dead layers” have been determined from Ferromagnetic Resonance (FMR) absorption of Ni and Fe thin films. Within experimental error “magnetic dead” or “live layers” can be excluded at free Ni surfaces. Approximately one hydrogen atom diminishes the contribution of one nickel atom to the thin film ferromagnetism in the β₂-state. Twice the effect is found for CO adsorption on nickel. Possible models to explain chemisorption effects in surface magnetism are discussed briefly.     

Density functional study of TaSin (n = 1-3, 12) clusters adsorbed to graphene surface

A plane-wave density functional theory (DFT) calculations have been performed to investigate structural and electronic properties of TaSi_n (n = 1-3, 12) clusters supported by graphene surface. The resulting adsorption structures are described and discussed in terms of stability, bonding, and electron transfer between the cluster and the graphene. The TaSi_n clusters on graphene surface favor their free-standing ground-state structures. Especially in the cases of the linear TaSi₂ and the planar TaSi₃, the graphene surface may catalyze the transition of the TaSi_n clusters from an isomer of lower dimensionality into the ground-state structure. The adsorption site and configuration of TaSi_n on graphene surface are dominated by the interaction between Ta atom and graphene. Ta atom prefers to adsorb on the hollow site of graphene, and Si atoms tend to locate on the bridge site. Further, the electron transfer is found to proceed from the cluster to the surface for n = 1 and 2, while its direction reverses as n > 2. For the case of TaSi, chemisorption is shown to prevail over physisorption as the dominant mode of surface-adsorbate interaction by charge density analysis.     

Ab initio study of water adsorption on TiO2-terminated (100) surface of SrTiO3 with and without Cr doping

Water molecule adsorption on TiO₂-terminated (100) surface of SrTiO₃ with and without Cr doping is investigated by first principle calculation based on density functional theory. The band gap is shrunk compared with that of bulk due to the existence of defect states on the surface and 3d states of dopants. As a result the absorption energy edge is reduced and locates in the visible region. When adsorbed on the surface, energy levels of water molecules as a whole are lowered with respect to the Fermi energy, but the higher levels are split and electrons are transferred from low levels to high levels due to the decrease of the density of states in low energy region. Weak bonding is formed between water hydrogen atoms and surface oxygen atoms. This bonding causes the electron transferring from substrate to molecule and the occupation of the corresponding states.     

Reactive molecular dynamic simulations of hydrocarbon dissociations on Ni(111) surfaces

Empirical potential parameters for H, C and Ni elements have been developed for the ReaxFF force field in order to study the decomposition of small hydrocarbon molecules on nickel using molecular dynamics simulations. These parameters were optimized using the geometrical and energetic information obtained from density functional (DFT) calculations on a subset of hydrogen and methane reactions with nickel (111) surfaces. The resulting force field was then used to obtain a molecular perspective of the dynamics of the methane dissociative adsorption on Ni(111) as well as two other small alkane molecules, ethane and n-butane. NVT simulations of dissociative adsorption of methane over a range of temperatures enabled the estimation of the sticking coefficient for the adsorption as well as the activation energy of the first C–H bond breaking. The rate constants of each elementary step (both forward and reverse) of CH_x dissociation on Ni(111) were obtained by monitoring the surface species and a microkinetic model was constructed as a result. Qualitative analyses of the simulations of ethane and n-butane decompositions on Ni(111) demonstrate that such reactive MD technique can also be used to obtain useful information on complex reaction networks.     

Stability and electronic properties of Rh-doped ruthenium clusters and their interaction with NH3 molecule

The stability and electronic properties of the Rh-doped ruthenium clusters and their reactivity towards NH₃ molecule have been studied using DFT calculations with the BLYP-D3/SDD level of theory. The results show that the doping of Ru clusters with Rh atom improves the catalytic performances of pure Ru clusters, and the Ru₅Rh and Ru₇Rh clusters are assumed to be less reactive than their neighbours. The interaction of NH₃ with clusters exhibits that the Ru atoms are preferred adsorption sites for the NH₃ molecule, and the adsorption takes place between the Ru atom of clusters and the N atom of NH₃ molecule. The adsorption energies of NH₃ on Ru_nRh clusters are in the range of ?101.5 to ?218.4?kJ?mol^?1, suggesting a strong adsorption between both species. Upon adsorption process, the electronic properties of the Ru_nRh clusters were substantially changed. The variation of E_g (ΔE_g) for the Ru_nRh (n?≥?7) clusters is very important (ΔE_g?≥?55%), suggesting that these clusters are very sensitive to the NH₃ molecule. Hence, these clusters can be employed as nanosensors for the detection of the NH₃ gas.     

Chemisorption of water on nickel surfaces

Magnetic and volumetric measurements associated with neutron inelastic spectroscopy demonstrate that water is dissociatively adsorbed on nickel. In the case of Raney nickel, for low coverages, the oxygen is fixed on surface aluminium atoms and hydrogen occupies two nickel sites. At high coverage, the water molecule is fixed via oxygen bonding to the hydrogen covered nickel. On nickel prepared from its hydroxide, adsorption is reversible, the water molecule occupying six metal sites.     

Hyperfine interactions and local magnetic ordering in Zr(Fe1-xCox)2 (0⩽x⩽0.2)

In the pseudobinary intermetallic compounds Zr(Fe_1-xCo_x)₂ (0?x?0.2) the hyperfine fields of all nuclei present are investigated by means of Mössbauer effect and NMR. While for the “nonmagnetic” site the Zr-hyperfine field depends on the configuration of the nearest Fe, Co neighbours, no such effect is observed for the hyperfine fields on the “magnetic” sites. A large pseudodipolar interaction is observed for the Fe and Co atoms, from which the coexistence of several directions of magnetization can be deduced. The easy direction seems to be determined by the respective Fe/Co configuration.