Trapping-mediated dissociative chemisorption of cycloalkanes on Ru(001) and Ir(111): influence of ring strain and molecular geometry on the activation of C-C and C-H bonds.

We have measured the initial probabilities of dissociative chemisorption of perhydrido and perdeutero cycloalkane isotopomers on the hexagonally close-packed Ru(001) and Ir(111) single-crystalline surfaces for surface temperatures between 250 and 1100 K. Kinetic parameters (activation barrier and preexponential factor) describing the initial, rate-limiting C-H or C-C bond cleavage reactions were quantified for each cycloalkane isotopomer on each surface. Determination of the dominant initial reaction mechanism as either initial C-C or C-H bond cleavage was judged by the presence or absence of a kinetic isotope effect between the activation barriers for each cycloalkane isotopomer pair, and also by comparison with other relevant alkane activation barriers. On the Ir(111) surface, the dissociative chemisorption of cyclobutane, cyclopentane, and cyclohexane occurs via two different reaction pathways: initial C-C bond cleavage dominates on Ir(111) at high temperature (T > approximately 600 K), while at low temperature (T < approximately 400 K), initial C-H bond cleavage dominates. On the Ru(001) surface, dissociative chemisorption of cyclopentane occurs via initial C-C bond cleavage over the entire temperature range studied, whereas dissociative chemisorption of both cyclohexane and cyclooctane occurs via initial C-H bond cleavage. Comparison of the cycloalkane C-C bond activation barriers measured here with those reported previously in the literature qualitatively suggests that the difference in ring-strain energies between the initial state and the transition state for ring-opening C-C bond cleavage effectively lowers or raises the activation barrier for dissociative chemisorption via C-C bond cleavage, depending on whether the transition state is less or more strained than the initial state. Moreover, steric arguments and metal-carbon bond strength arguments have been evoked to explain the observed trend of decreasing C-H bond activation barrier with decreasing cycloalkane ring size.     

Investigating CN- cleavage by three-coordinate M[N(R)Ar]3 complexes

Three-coordinate Mo[N((t)Bu)Ar]3 binds cyanide to form the intermediate [Ar((t)Bu)N]3Mo-CN-Mo[N((t)Bu)Ar]3 but, unlike its N2 analogue which spontaneously cleaves dinitrogen, the C-N bond remains intact. DFT calculations on the model [NH2]3Mo/CN- system show that while the overall reaction is significantly exothermic, the final cleavage step is endothermic by at least 90 kJ mol(-1), accounting for why C-N bond cleavage is not observed experimentally. The situation is improved for the [H2N]3W/CN- system where the intermediate and products are closer in energy but not enough for CN- cleavage to be facile at room temperature. Additional calculations were undertaken on the mixed-metal [H2N]3Re+/CN- /W[NH2]3 and [H2N]3Re+/CN-/Ta[NH2]3 systems in which the metals ions were chosen to maximise the stability of the products on the basis of an earlier bond energy study. Although the reaction energetics for the [H2N]3Re+/CN /W[NH2]3 system are more favourable than those for the [H2N]3W/CN- system, the final C-N cleavage step is still endothermic by 32 kJ mol(-1) when symmetry constraints are relaxed. The resistance of these systems to C-N cleavage was examined by a bond decomposition analysis of [H2N]M-L1[triple bond]L2-M[NH2]3 intermediates for L1[triple bond]L2 = N2, CO and CN which showed that backbonding from the metal into the L1[triple bond]L2 pi* orbitals is significantly less for CN than for N2 or CO due to the negative charge on CN- which results in a large energy gap between the metal d(pi), and the pi* orbitals of CN-. This, combined with the very strong M-CN- interaction which stabilises the CN intermediate, makes C-N bond cleavage in these systems unfavourable even though the C[triple bond]N triple bond is not as strong as the bond in N2 or CO.     

甲胺在清洁及磷改性Mo(100)表面的解离

采用广义梯度近似(GGA)的密度泛函理论(DFT)(DFT-GGA)并结合平板模型, 研究了甲胺在清洁及磷(P)改性的Mo(100)表面(P-Mo(100))发生C—N键断裂的反应历程(CH3NH2→CH3+NH2). 优化了裂解过程中反应物、过渡态和产物的几何构型, 获得了反应路径上各物种的吸附能及反应的活化能数据. 计算结果表明, 在清洁和磷改性的Mo(100)表面, 甲胺均稳定吸附在顶位, 甲基和氨基最稳定的吸附位置均为桥位. 甲胺的C—N键在P-Mo(100)表面裂解的活化能为2.39 eV, 高于其在清洁表面的活化能(1.99 eV). 这表明Mo(100)表面被预吸附的P原子钝化了. 电子结构分析表明, 改性P原子使得金属Mo的供电子能力减弱, 导致它的d带中心下移, 从而降低了该表面的反应活性, 提高了甲胺的C—N键裂解的活化能. 活化能的分解表明, C—N键在P-Mo(100)与Mo(100)表面裂解的活化能的差异主要体现在初态到过渡态时甲胺的结构变化引起的能量变化(△EdefCH3NH2)、过渡态仅有甲基存在时的吸附能(ETSCH3)和过渡态甲基和氨基的相互作用(EintCH3…NH2). △EdefCH3NH2和ETSCH3使活化能升高幅度大于EintCH3…NH2使活化能降低幅度, 最终导致甲胺的C—N键在P-Mo(100)表面裂解的活化能要高于在Mo(100)表面裂解的活化能.     

The activation of tertiary carboxamides in metal complexes: an experimental and theoretical study on the methanolysis of acylated bispicolylamine copper(II) complexes

It is a well-established concept that the C-N bond cleavage of carboxamide functions is facilitated by the coordination of a metal ion to the carbonyl oxygen atom. In contrast, the alternative C-N bond activation by coordination of a neutral tertiary carboxamide nitrogen atom has not been studied. We present the first results on the effect of nitrogen pyramidalization in N-coordinated metal complexes on the methanolysis of tertiary carboxamide groups. An analysis of the reactions products obtained from the methanol cleavage of [(N-Acyl-bpa)Cu]2+ (bpa = N,N-bispicolylamine) complexes is presented together with experimental and high-level theoretically calculated structures. The strong effect of different anions on the amide pyramidalization and subsequent C-N-bond cleavage is evaluated. We show that dichloro complexes [(N-Acyl-bpa)CuCl2] have much less activated amide groups than the corresponding triflate species. They should therefore be less reactive. However, [(N-Acyl-bpa)CuCl2] complexes dissociate in solution to give cationic monochloro complexes [(N-Acyl-bpa)Cu(S)Cl]+ (S = solvent molecule). Theoretical calculations show that the amide pyramidalization in the monochloro complexes is equal to that in the corresponding CF3SO3- salts. Consequently, chloro and triflato complexes are cleaved with similar rates and efficiencies. Parallels to and differences in the reactivity of purely organic distorted amides are discussed.     

甲烷在清洁 Pd(111) 及氧改性的 Pd(111) 表面解离的密度泛函理论研究

 采用广义梯度近似 (GGA) 的密度泛函理论 (DFT) 并结合平板模型, 研究了 CH4 在清洁 Pd(111) 及 O 改性的 Pd(111) 表面发生 C朒 键断裂的反应历程. 优化了裂解过程中反应物、过渡态和产物的几何构型, 获得了反应路径上各物种的吸附能及反应的活化能. 结果表明, CH4 采用一个 H 原子指向表面的构型在 Pd(111) 表面的顶位吸附, CH3 的最稳定的吸附位置为顶位, OH, O 和 H 的最稳定吸附位置均为面心立方. CH4 在清洁 Pd(111) 表面裂解的活化能为 0.97 eV, 低于它在 O 原子改性 (O 没有参与反应) 的 Pd(111) 表面的活化能 1.42 eV, 说明表面氧原子抑制了 CH4 中 C朒 键的断裂. 当亚表面 O 原子和表面 O 原子 (O 参与反应) 共同存在时, C朒 键断裂的活化能为 0.72 eV, 低于只有表层氧存在时的活化能 (1.43 eV), 说明亚表面的 O 原子对 CH4 分子的活化具有促进作用. CH4 在 O 原子改性的 Pd(111) 表面裂解生成 CH3 和 H, 以及生成 CH3 和 OH 的反应活化能分别为 1.42 和 1.43 eV, 说明 CH4 在 O 原子改性的 Pd(111) 表面发生这两种反应的难易程度相当.     

CO2在金属表面活化的UBI-QEP方法研究

应用UBI-QEP方法估算了金属表面上形成的活化吸附态CO₂^-在Cu(111),Pd(111),Fe(111)和Ni(111)表面上的吸附热,计算了各种相关反应的活化能垒.结果表明,CO₂^-在4种过渡金属表面的相对稳定性的顺序为Fe>Ni>Cu>Pd;在Fe和Ni表面上CO₂^-较易生成,且容易进一步发生解离反应,在Fe表面会解离成C和O吸附原子,而在Ni表面上解离的最终产物为CO和O;在Cu表面上,CO₂^-虽较难形成,但其加氢反应的活化能比解离反应低,因此加氢反应是其进一步活化的有效模式;在Pd表面上,CO₂^-吸附态在能量上很不稳定,所以CO₂在Pd表面上不容易活化.     

乙烷在Ni(111)表面的吸附和分解

研究了乙烷在Ni(111)表面解离的可能反应机理, 使用完全线性同步和二次同步变换(complete LST/QST)方法确定解离反应的过渡态. 采用基于第一性原理的密度泛函理论与周期平板模型相结合的方法, 优化了C2H6裂解反应过程中各物种在Ni(111)表面的top, fcc, hcp和bridge位的吸附模型, 计算了能量, 并对布居电荷进行分析, 得到了各物种的有利吸附位. 结果表明, 乙烷在Ni(111)表面C—C解离的速控步骤活化能为257.9 kJ·mol-1, 而C—H解离速控步骤活化能为159.8 kJ·mol-1, 故C—H键解离过程占优势, 主要产物是C2H4和H2.     

A kinetic and thermodynamic study of the glycosidic bond cleavage in deoxyuridine

Density functional theory was used to study the thermodynamics and kinetics for the glycosidic bond cleavage in deoxyuridine. Two reaction pathways were characterized for the unimolecular decomposition in vacuo. However, these processes are associated with large reaction barriers and highly endothermic reaction energies, which is in agreement with experiments that suggest a (water) nucleophile is required for the nonenzymatic glycosidic bond cleavage. Two (S(N)1 and S(N)2) reaction pathways were characterized for direct hydrolysis of the glycosidic bond by a single water molecule; however, both pathways also involve very large barriers. Activation of the water nucleophile via partial proton abstraction steadily decreases the barrier and leads to a more exothermic reaction energy as the proton affinity of the molecule interacting with water increases. Indeed, our data suggests that the barrier heights and reaction energies range from that for hydrolysis by water to that for hydrolysis by the hydroxyl anion, which represents the extreme of (full) water activation (deprotonation). Hydrogen bonds between small molecules (hydrogen fluoride, water, or ammonia) and the nucleobase were found to further decrease the barrier and overall reaction energy but not to the extent that the same hydrogen-bonding interactions increase the acidity of the nucleobase. Our results suggest that the nature of the nucleophile plays a more important role in reducing the barrier to glycosidic bond cleavage than the nature of the small molecule bound, and models with more than one hydrogen fluoride molecule interacting with the nucleobase provide further support for this conclusion. Our results lead to a greater fundamental understanding of the effects of the nucleophile, activation of the nucleophile, and interactions with the nucleobase for this important biological reaction.     

Achieving C-N bond cleavage in dinuclear metal cyanide complexes

Cleavage of cyanide is more difficult to achieve compared to dinitrogen and carbon monoxide, even though these species contain triple bonds of greater strength. In this work, we have used computational methods to investigate thermodynamic and mechanistic aspects of the C-N bond cleavage process in [L(3)M-CN-M'L(3)] systems consisting of a central cyanide unit bound in an end-on fashion to two terminal metal tris-amide complexes. In these systems, [M] is a d(3) transition metal from the 3d, 4d, 5d, or 6d series and groups 4 through 7, and [L] is either [NH(2)], [NMe(2)], [N(i)PrPh], or [N(t)BuAr]. A comparison of various models for the experimentally relevant [L(3)Mo-CN-MoL(3)] system has shown that while the C-N cleavage step appears to be an energetically favourable process, a large barrier exists for the dissociation of [L(3)Mo-CN-MoL(3)]((-)) into [L(3)Mo-C]((-)) and [N-MoL(3)], which possibly explains why C-N bond scission is not observed experimentally. The general structural, bonding, and thermochemical trends across the transition metal series investigated, indicate that the systems exhibiting the greatest degree of C-N activation, and most favourable energetics for C-N cleavage, also possess the most favourable electronic properties, namely, a close match between the relevant π-like orbitals on the metal-based and cyanide fragments. The negative charge on the cyanide fragment leads to significant destabilization of the π* level which needs to be populated through back-donation from the metal centres in order for C-N bond scission to be achieved. Therefore, metal-based systems with high-lying d(π) orbitals are best suited to C-N cleavage. In terms of chemical periodicity, these systems can be identified as the heavier members within a group and the earlier members within a period. As a consequence, Mo complexes are not well suited to cleaving the C-N bond, whereas the Ta analogues are the most favourable systems and should, in principle, be capable of cleaving cyanide under relatively mild conditions. An important conclusion from this work is that a successful strategy for achieving cleavage of multiply-bonded, and relatively unreactive, molecular fragments, may simply lie in tuning the electronic structures and orbital interactions by judicious choice of metal sites and ligand groups.     

In Situ and Theoretical Studies for the Dissociation of Water on an Active Ni/CeO2 Catalyst: Importance of Strong Metal–Support Interactions for the Cleavage of O–H Bonds

Water dissociation is crucial in many catalytic reactions on oxide‐supported transition‐metal catalysts. Supported by experimental and density‐functional theory results, the effect of the support on O? H bond cleavage activity is elucidated for nickel/ceria systems. Ambient‐pressure O 1s photoemission spectra at low Ni loadings on CeO₂(111) reveal a substantially larger amount of OH groups as compared to the bare support. Computed activation energy barriers for water dissociation show an enhanced reactivity of Ni adatoms on CeO₂(111) compared with pyramidal Ni₄ particles with one Ni atom not in contact with the support, and extended Ni(111) surfaces. At the origin of this support effect is the ability of ceria to stabilize oxidized Ni²⁺ species by accommodating electrons in localized f‐states. The fast dissociation of water on Ni/CeO₂ has a dramatic effect on the activity and stability of this system as a catalyst for the water‐gas shift and ethanol steam reforming reactions.     

Methane dissociation on Ni(111): the effects of lattice motion and relaxation on reactivity

The effects of lattice motion and relaxation on the dissociative adsorption of methane on a Ni(111) surface are explored. Electronic structure methods based on the density functional theory are used to compute the potential energy surface for this reaction. It is found that, in the transition state and product regions, there are forces causing the Ni atom over which the molecule dissociates to move out of the surface. In order to examine the extent to which the lattice might pucker during this reaction, high dimensional fully quantum scattering calculations are carried out. It is found that a significant amount of lattice puckering can occur, even at large collision energies, lowering the barrier to reaction and increasing the dissociative sticking probability. This is shown to be in contrast to the predictions of the surface oscillator model. While we observe similar puckering forces for this reaction on Pt(111), our calculations suggest that the puckering on this surface will be considerably less due to the larger metal atom mass. The "laser off" reactivities of CD(3)H on Ni(111) are computed, and it is demonstrated that there can be significant contributions to the reactivity from vibrationally excited molecules, particularly at lower collision energies, or when a large nozzle temperature is required to attain the necessary collision energy for reaction. Comparisons are made with recent experiments with regard to the variation of reactivity with collision energy, vibrational state, and surface temperature.     

Theoretical study of the CH2 + O photodissociation of formaldehyde adsorbed on the Ag(111) surface

Configuration interaction calculations of the ground and excited states of the H2CO molecule adsorbed on the Ag(111) surface have been carried out to study the photoinduced dissociation process leading to polymerization of formaldehyde. The metal-adsorbate system has been described by the embedded cluster and multireference configuration interaction methods. The pi electron-attachment H2CO- and n-pi* internally excited H2CO* states have been considered as possible intermediates. The calculations have shown that H2CO* is only very weakly bound on Ag(111), and thus that the dissociation of adsorbed formaldehyde due to internal excitation is unlikely. By contrast, the H2CO- anion is strongly bound to Ag(111) and gains additional vibrational energy along the C-O stretch coordinate via Franck-Condon excitation from the neutral molecule. Computed energy variations of adsorbed H2CO and H2CO- at different key geometries along the pathway for C-O bond cleavage make evident, however, that complete dissociation is very difficult to attain on the potential energy surface of either of these states. Instead, reneutralization of the vibrationally excited anion by electron transfer back to the substrate is the most promising means of breaking the C-O bond, with subsequent formation of the coadsorbed O and CH2 fragments. Furthermore, it has been demonstrated that the most stable state for both dissociation fragments on Ag(111) is a closed-shell singlet, with binding energies relative to the gas-phase products of approximately 3.2 and approximately 1.3 eV for O and CH2, respectively. Further details of the reaction mechanism for the photoinduced C-O bond cleavage of H2CO on the Ag(111) surface are also given.     

铑催化合成气制乙醇反应中CO断键途径的研究

利用程序升温表面反应─红外（ＴＰＳＲ－ＩＲ）动态技术考察ＣＯ吸附物种对氢的反应性能并检验表面反应生成的中间物，结果表明线式ＣＯ对氢的反应性能高于桥式ＣＯ，即线式ＣＯ更可能是活性吸附态；表面反应生成了ＨＣＯ、ＣＨ２等中间物．用键级守恒（ＢＯＣ）－Ｍｏｒｓｅ势方法计算比较了ＣＯ→ＣＨ２过程中各可能基元步骤在Ｒｈ（１１１）面上的反应活化能和反应热，结果表明ＣＯ经其部分氢化物种（如Ｈ２ＣＯ、ＨＣＯＨ）的氢解反应断裂Ｃ─Ｏ键在能量上最有利．根据这些实验结果，提出铑基催化剂上合成气转化反应主要按缔合式机理进行；ＣＯ的优势断键途径为先部分氢化，而后氢助断键．     

Theoretical study of the catalytic mechanism and metal-ion dependence of peptide deformylase

The reaction pathway of deformylation catalyzed by E. coli peptide deformylase (PDF) has been investigated by the density functional theory method of PBE1PBE on a small model and by a two-layer ONIOM method on a realistic protein model. The deformylation proceeds in sequential steps involving nucleophilic addition of metal-coordinated water/hydroxide to the carbonyl carbon of the formyl group, proton transfer, and cleavage of the C-N bond. The first step is rate-determining for the deformylation, which occurs through a pentacoordinated metal center. The estimated activation energies with the ONIOM method are about 23.0, 15.0, and 14.9 kcal/mol for Zn-, Ni-, and Fe-PDFs, respectively. These calculated barriers are in close agreement with experimental observations. Our results demonstrate that the preference for metal coordination geometry exerts a significant influence on the catalytic activity of PDFs by affecting the activation of the carbonyl group of the substrate, the deprotonation of the metal-coordinated water, and the stabilization of the transition state. This preference for coordination geometry is mainly determined by the ligand environment and the intrinsic electronic structures of the metal center in the active site of the PDFs.     

First‐Principles Study toward CO Adsorption on Au/Ni Surface Alloys

The introduction of a second metal, gold, into a nickel matrix can effectively improve the catalytic performance and thermal stability of the catalysts toward steam reforming of methane. To investigate the effect of Au on the adsorption properties and electronic structure of the Ni(111) surface, we chose CO as a probe molecule and examined CO adsorption on various Au/Ni surfaces. It was revealed that Au addition weakened the absorbate–substrate interactions on the Ni(111) surface. With increasing gold concentration, the binding energy declines further. The variation of the binding energies has been interpreted by exploring the electronic structure of surface nickel atoms. The effect of gold can be quantitatively characterized by the slopes of the fitting equations between the binding energy and the number of gold atoms surrounding the adsorption site. Our results show that the binding energy at top sites can be approximately estimated by counting the number of surrounding gold atoms. On one specific surface, the relative magnitude of the binding energy can be simply judged by the distance between gold and the geometrical center of the adsorption site. This empirical rule holds true for C, H, and O adsorption on the Au/Ni surface. It may be applicable to a system in which a doped atom of larger atomic size is incorporated into the host metal surface by forming a surface alloy.     

羰基镍簇Ni(CO)n(n=1-4)的结构和Ni-CO键解离性质的密度泛函理论研究

在密度泛函理论框架下, 应用不同泛函计算了配合物Ni(CO)n(n=1~4)的平衡几何构型和振动频率. 考察了泛函和基组重叠误差对预测Ni—CO键解离能的影响. 计算结果表明, 用杂化泛函能得到与实验一致的优化几何构型和较合理的振动频率. 对Ni(CO)n(n=2~4)体系, 用“纯”泛函, 如BP86和BPW91, 可得到与CCSD(T)更符合、 并与实验值接近的解离能. 当解离产物出现单个金属原子或离子(如金属羰基配合物的完全解离)时, BSSE校正项的计算中应保持金属部分的电子结构一致. 只有考虑配体基组和不考虑配体基组两种情况下金属的电子构型与配合物中金属的构型一致时, 才能得到合理的BSSE校正, 从而预测合理的解离能.     

Theoretical investigation of formation mechanism of bipyridyl molecule on Ni(111) surface: implication for synthesis of N-doped graphene from pyridine

The formation mechanism of bipyridyl molecule catalyzed by nickel catalyst with pyridine precursor has been studied using density functional theory calculations. The formation of bipyridyl on Ni(111) surface from two pyridine molecules is considered as the initial process of N-doped graphene growth, and the minimum energy pathway for the formation has been investigated in detail. The whole formation processes mainly includes three steps, i.e., the dehydrogenation of the first pyridine, adsorption and dehydrogenation of the second pyridine, and formation of the bipyridyl molecule. It is found that the C-H bond of pyridine could be selectively dissociated while the C-C and C-N bond connections are retained during the catalytic processes. The N-doped graphene formed by pyridine only contains pyridine-like nitrogen atoms, suggesting a possible way to produce N-doped graphene with pure pyridine-like nitrogen atoms. The comparison of formation mechanisms between bipyridyl and biphenyl molecules was carried out, and the results imply a lower temperature process for synthesis of N-doped graphene from pyridine than that for graphene from benzene.     

Density Functional Theory Study of HCN Adsorption on Small Gold Clusters

A theoretical study was carried out on the adsorption of hydrocyanic acid on small Aun （n ≤ 7） clusters using density functional methods. For HCN adsorption on gold clusters, no dependence was found with respect to the even-odd alternation in relation to the number of gold atoms in the cluster. The HCN molecule is adsorbed at simple adsorption sites （1-fold coordination）, perpendicular to the adsorption site. The largest adsorption energy is only about 74.61 kJ·mol^-1, which indicates that the HCN molecule does not decompose and the C-N bond retains triple bond, and that the C-H and C-N stretching frequencies are only weakly perturbed. The adsorbed C-N and C-H stretching frequencies are blue- and red-shifted compared with the values of free HCN, respectively.     

Molecular structures,bond energies,and bonding analysis of group 11 cyanides TM(CN) and isocyanides TM(NC) (TM = Cu,Ag, Au)

We report on quantum chemical calculations at the DFT (BP86/TZP) and ab initio (CCSD(T)/III+) levels of the title compounds. The geometries, vibrational spectra, heats of formation, and homolytic and heterolytic bond dissociation energies are given. The calculated bond length of Cu-CN is in reasonable agreement with experiment. The theoretical geometries for CuNC and the other group 11 cyanides and isocyanides which have not been measured as isolated species provide a good estimate for the exact values. The theoretical bond dissociation energies and heats of formation should be accurate with an error limit of +/-5 kcal/mol. The calculation of the vibrational spectra shows that the C-N stretching mode of the cyanides, which lies between 2170 and 2180 cm(-)(1), is IR inactive. The omega(1)(C-N) vibrations of the isocyanides are shifted by approximately 100 cm(-)(1) to lower wavenumbers. They are predicted to have a very large IR intensity. The nature of the metal-ligand interactions was investigated with the help of an energy partitioning analysis in two different ways using the charged fragments TM(+) + CN(-) (TM = transition metal) and the neutral fragments TM(*) + CN(*) as bonding partners. The calculations suggest that covalent interactions are the driving force for the formation of the TM-CN and TM-NC bonds, but the finally formed bonds are better described in terms of interactions between TM(+) and CN(-), which have between 73% and 80% electrostatic character. The contribution of the pi bonding is rather small. The lower energy of the metal cyanides than that of the isocyanides comes from the stronger electrostatic interaction between the more diffuse electron density at the carbon atom of the cyano ligand and the positively charged nucleus of the metal.     

First-principles study of C adsorption, O adsorption, and CO dissociation on flat and stepped Ni surfaces

The adsorption of atomic oxygen and carbon was studied with plane wave density functional theory on four Ni surfaces, Ni(110), Ni(111), Ni(210), and Ni(531). Various adsorption sites on these surfaces are examined in order to identify the most favorable adsorption site for each atomic species. The dependence of surface bonding on adsorbate coverage is also investigated. Adsorption energies and structural information are obtained and compared with existing experimental results for Ni(110) and Ni(111). In addition, activation barriers to CO dissociation have been determined on Ni(111) and Ni(531) by locating the transition states for these processes. Our results indicate that the binding energies of C are comparatively stronger on stepped surfaces than on flat surfaces, and the energy barriers associated with CO dissociation strongly favor reactions occurring near surface steps.