Decomposition pathways of C1C4 alcohols adsorbed on platinum (111)

The adsorption and decomposition of methanol, ethanol, propan-1-ol, propan-2-ol and butan-1-ol has been studied on clean, and oxygen pre-covered Pt(111) surfaces. Temperature Programmed Reaction Spectroscopy (TPRS), Surface Potential Measurements (ΔV), UPS and XPS were used to characterise the adsorbed layer as a function of temperature. Each alcohol adsorbed into two states, a monolayer phase and a multilayer phase which were distinguishable by TPRS and Spectroscopy measurements. The monolayer alcohol adsorption heats increased sequentially from methanol to n-butanol (11.5–15 kcal mole^?1). On the clean surface, less than 10% of the adsorbed monolayer dissociated, with 90% of the alcohol desorbing intact. Two competing dissociative pathways were observed: complete dissociation to adsorbed CO, H and C, and with propan-1-ol and butan-1-ol, scission of the CC bond nearest the CO group to form adsorbed CO, H and ethylidyne and propylidyne species respectively. The latter reaction probability was constant at 30% for n-propanol and n-butanol. In all cases the final desorption products were the parent alcohol, CO and H₂ with carbon remaining on the surface for the higher alcohols. Atomic oxygen removed hydrogen from the alcohols as water but did not change the final reaction products.     

The adsorption and decomposition of methanol on the Rh(100) surface

The adsorption and decomposition of methanol on the Rh(100) surface have been studied using high-resolution electron energy loss spectroscopy and thermal desorption mass spectrometry. Below 200 K, methanol is molecularly adsorbed and bonds to the surface via the oxygen atom. At 200–220 K, a saturated methanol layer undergoes two competing reactions: desorption and OH bond cleavage to form an O-bonded methoxy species. The methoxy species is stable to approximately 250 K. Between 250 and 320 K, a fraction of the methoxy species decomposes to form coadsorbed CO and hydrogen adatoms while the remainder recombines with hydrogen adatoms to desorb as molecular methanol. The hydrogen adatoms remaining on the surface desorb as H₂ between 270 and 400 K, and the CO desorbs between 450 and 550 K. Following a saturation exposure, approximately 0.2 monolayers of methanol decompose to eventually yield CO and H₂ as desorption products. These results are compared to the chemistry of methanol on other metal surfaces.     

The adsorption and decomposition of methanol on tungsten. II

A clean tungsten filament adsorbs methanol rapidly at room temperature, the initial sticking probability being 0.8. At saturation, the composition of the adsorbed layer is roughly CO:H = 1:1 and it is suggested that the hydrogen may be in the form of a surface complex. The continuous decomposition of methanol by the hot filament under steady-state conditions, or when the filament had been previously oxygenated, followed a different course from that previously reported for the newly-cleaned filament. Rather than a rapid rise in the rate of decomposition (to CO + H₂) for 600 < T_fil < 1300 K to a high plateau above 1300 K, decompositon to formaldehyde, carbon monoxide and methane was observed. The rates at which these products appeared passed through low maxima between 900 and 1100 K. The change in the relative importance of formaldehyde and carbon monoxide production with filament temperature within this range is attributed to a temperature-dependent life-time of formaldehyde molecules on the oxygenated surface. At the highest temperature (> 1500 K) the reactivity increased rapidly to join that of the clean surface, probably due to the desorption of surface oxygen.     

Influence of the substrate structure on the bonding of chemisorbed acetylene to transition metal surfaces

The electronic spectrum of acetylene adsorbed on various transition metals has been measured by ultraviolet photoemission spectroscopy in various laboratories. At low temperatures (T < 150 K), all measurements concur in finding an electron spectrum that differs only moderately from the gas phase spectrum of acetylene. At room temperature, the electron spectrum of acetylene is reported to be similar to the low-temperature form on Ir(100) and Pt(100), but acetylene is reported to form an olefinic surface complex on Pd(111) and Pt(111) surfaces. In order to examine whether the surface structure of the substrate is responsible for the difference, we have measured the electronic spectrum of acetylene adsorbed on the Pd(100) and Ru(0001) surfaces. At 120 K, the spectrum of adsorbed acetylene is again a distorted gas phase spectrum on both surfaces. At 330 K, we find the acetylenic form (with a splitting of 2.5 eV of the σ-orbitals) on Pd(100) and an olefinic form on the basal plane of Ru. We conclude that the olefinic complex is proper to the threefold symmetry of the (111) and (0001) surfaces and the gas-like form is favored on the (100) surfaces of the fcc crystals.     

XPS,UPS and thermal desorption studies of alcohol adsorption on Cu(110): I. Methanol

The adsorption of methanol on clean and oxygen dosed Cu(110) surfaces has been studied using temperature programmed reaction spectroscopy (TPRS), ultra-violet photoelectron spectroscopy (UPS) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Methanol was adsorbed on the clean surface at 140 K in monolayer quantities and subsequently desorbed over a broad range of temperature from 140 to 400 K. The UPS He (II) spectra showed the 5 highest lying emissions seen in the gas phase spectrum of methanol with a chemisorption bonding shift of the two highest lying orbitais due to bonding to the surface via the oxygen atom with which these orbitals are primarily associated. A species of quite a different nature was produced by heating this layer to 270 K. Most noticeably the UPS spectrum showed only 3 emissions and the maximum coverage of this state was approximately $\text{1}\text{2}$ monolayer. The data are indicative of the formation of a methoxy species, thus showing that methanol is dissociated on the clean Cu(110) surface at 270 K. The same dissociated species was observed on the oxygen dosed surface, the main difference in this ease being the production of large amounts of H₂CO observed in TPRS at 370 K.     

Carbon monoxide and hydrogen coadsorption on polycrystalline platinum

The coadsorption of carbon monoxide and hydrogen was studied on a polycrystalline platinum foil. In a comparison with single crystal surfaces, the desorption kinetics of the individual species most closely resemble those on Pt(110). In coadsorption there is competition between CO and H₂. Carbon monoxide completely blocks hydrogen adsorption, but on a hydrogen-saturated surface only two-thirds of the carbon nomoxide adsorption is blocked. Shifts in peak temperatures for hydrogen desorption indicate that repulsive interactions between adsorbed CO and H₂ are important, and lead to segregated islands of the two adsorbates. Under some conditions there is also a new low temperature desorption peak for hydrogen which indicates that there are regions on the surface where carbon monoxide and hydrogen are intermixed.     

Adsorption of carbon monoxide,oxygen, hydrogen,nitrogen, ethylene and benzene on an iridium (110) surface; Correlation with other iridium crystal faces

The interaction of CO, O₂, H₂, N₂, C₂H₄ and C₆H₆ with an Ir(110) surface has been studied using LEED, Auger electron spectroscopy and flash desorption mass spectroscopy. Adsorption of oxygen at 30°C produces a (1× 2) structure, while a c(2 × 2) structure is formed at 400°C. Two peaks have been detected in the thermal desorption spectrum of oxygen following adsorption at 30°C. The heat of adsorption of hydrogen is slightly higher on Ir(110) than on Ir(111). Adsorption of carbon monoxide at 30°C produces a (2 × 1) surface structure. The main CO desorption peak is found around 230, while two other desorption peaks are observed around 340 and 160°C. At exposures between 250 and 500°C carbon monoxide adsorption yields a c(2 × 2) structure and a desorption peak around 600°C. Carbon monoxide is adsorbed on an Ir(110) surface partly covered with oxygen or carbon in a new binding state with a significantly higher desorption temperature than on the clean surface. Adsorption of nitrogen could not be detected on either clean or on carbon covered Ir(110) surfaces. The hydrocarbon molecules do not form ordered surface structures on Ir(110). The thermal desorption spectra obtained after adsorption of C₆H₆ or C₂H₄ are similar to those reported previously for Ir(111) consisting mostly of hydrogen. Heating the (110) surface above 700°C in the presence of C₆H₆ or C₂H₄ results in the formation of an ordered carbonaceous overlayer with (1 × 1) structure. The results are compared with those obtained previously on the Ir(111) and Ir(755) or stepped [6(111) × (100)] surfaces. The CO adsorption results are discussed in relation to data on similar surfaces of other Group VIII metals.     

TPD study of the adsorption and reaction of nitromethane and methyl nitrite on ordered Pt–Sn surface alloys

The adsorption and reaction of the isomers nitromethane (CH₃NO₂) and methyl nitrite (CH₃ONO) on two ordered Sn/Pt(111) surface alloys were studied using TPD, AES, and LEED. Even though the Sn–O bond is stronger than the Pt–O bond and Sn is more easily oxidized than Pt, alloying with Sn reduces the reactivity of the Pt(111) surface for both of these oxygen-containing molecules. This is because of kinetic limitations due to a weaker chemisorption bond and an increased activation energy for dissociation for these molecules on the alloys compared to Pt(111). Nitromethane only weakly adsorbs on the Sn/Pt(111) surface alloys, shows no thermal reaction during TPD, and undergoes completely reversible adsorption under UHV conditions. Methyl nitrite is a much more reactive molecule due to the weak CH₃O–NO bond, and most of the chemisorbed methyl nitrite decomposes below 240 K on the alloy surfaces to produce NO and a methoxy species. Surface methoxy is a stable intermediate until 300 K on the alloys, and then it dehydrogenates to evolve gas phase formaldehyde with high selectivity against complete dehydrogenation to form CO on both alloy surfaces.     

Impact of potassium on the heats of adsorption of adsorbed CO species on supported Pt particles by using the AEIR method

The heats of adsorption at several coverages of the linear and bridged CO species (denoted L and B, respectively) adsorbed on the Pt⁰ sites of the 2.9 wt% Pt/10% K/Al₂O₃ catalyst are determined using the Adsorption Equilibrium Infrared spectroscopy method. The addition of K on 2.9% Pt/Al₂O₃ modifies significantly the adsorption of CO on the Pt particles: (a) the ratio L/B is decreased from 8.4 to 1, (b) a new adsorbed CO species is detected with an IR band at 1763 cm⁻¹, (c) the heats of adsorption of L and B CO species are significantly altered and the positions of their IR bands are shifted. The heats of adsorption of L CO species are decreased: i.e. 206 and 105 kJ/mol at low coverages on Pt/Al₂O₃ and Pt/K/Al₂O₃ respectively. Two B CO species denoted B1 and B2, with different heats of adsorption are observed on Pt/K/Al₂O₃. The heats of adsorption of B2 CO species (major B CO species) are significantly larger than those measured in the absence of K: i.e. 94 and 160 kJ/mol at low coverages on Pt/Al₂O₃ and Pt/K/Al₂O₃ respectively, whereas those of B1 CO species (minor species) are similar: 90 kJ/mol at low coverages. These values are consistent with the qualitative High Resolution Electron Energy Loss Spectrometry literature data on Pt(1 1 1) modified by potassium.     

Temperature programmed desorption study of acetylene on a clean,H-covered,and O-covered Pt(111) surface

The reactions of acetylene on a clean, a H-covered and an O-covered Pt(111) surface were studied by temperature programmed desorption for various coverages of acetylene, and acetylene to H or O ratios. The desorption products were quantitatively determined. On a clean surface, acetylene decomposes to hydrogen and surface carbon. A small amount of self-hydrogenation to ethylene also occurs during decomposition. On a H-covered surface, hydrogenation to CH₄, C₂H₆, and ethylene, and decomposition to hydrogen and surface carbon occur simultaneously. The reactions on these two surfaces can be explained by the presence of two sites. One site is a bare surface Pt atom on which decomposition is the primary reaction pathway. The other site is a Pt atom with adsorbed H on which hydrogenation is the primary reaction pathway. On the O-covered surface, the decomposition reaction takes place together with an oxidation reaction which yields CO, CO₂, and water. The oxidation reaction probably proceeds via an intermediate that has a stoichiometry of CH. Results on the O-covered surface are consistent with the model that oxygen absorbs in islands, and the oxidation reaction takes place at the perimeter of the islands. These results are compared with those of ethylene reaction on the same Pt surfaces.     

Adsorption and decomposition of HNCO on Cu(111) surface studied by auger electron,electron energy loss and thermal desorption spectroscopy

No detectable adsorbed species were observed after exposure of HNCO to a clean Cu(111) surface at 300 K. The presence of adsorbed oxygen, however, exerted a dramatic influence on the adsorptive properties of this surface and caused the dissociative adsorption of HNCO with concomitant release of water. The adsorption of HNCO at 300 K produced two new strong losses at 10.4 and 13.5 eV in electron energy loss spectra, which were not observed during the adsorption of either CO or atomic N. These loses can be attributed to surface NCO on Cu(111). The surface isocyanate was stable up to 400 K. The decomposition in the adsorbed phase began with the evolution of CO₂. The desorption of nitrogen started at 700 K. Above 800 K, the formation of C₂N₂ was observed. The characteristics of the CO₂ formation and the ratios of the products sensitively depended on the amount of preadsorbed oxygen. No HNCO was desorbed as such, and neither NCO nor (NCO)₂ were detected during the desorption. From the comparison of adsorption and desorption behaviours of HNCO, N, CO and CO₂ on copper surfaces it was concluded that NCO exists as such on a Cu(111) surface at 300 K. The interaction of HNCO with oxygen covered Cu(111) surface and the reactions of surface NCO with adsorbed oxygen are discussed in detail.     

Adsorption of H2O on Al(111)

The adsorption of H₂O on Al(111) has been studied by ESDIAD (electron stimulated desorption ion angular distributions), LEED (low energy electron diffraction), AES (Auger electron spectroscopy) and thermal desorption in the temperature range 80–700 K. At 80 K, H₂O is adsorbed predominantly in molecular form, and the ESDIAD patterns indicate that bonding occurs through the O atom, with the molecular axis tilted away from the surface normal. Some of the H₂O adsorbed at 80 K on clean Al(111) can be desorbed in molecular form, but a considerable fraction dissociates upon heating into OH_ads and hydrogen, which leaves the surface as H₂. Following adsorption of H₂O onto oxygen-precovered Al(111), additional OH_ads is formed upon heating (perhaps via a hydrogen abstraction reaction), and H₂ desorbs at temperatures considerably higher than that seen for H₂O on clean Al(111). The general behavior of H₂O adsorption on clean and oxygen-precovered Al(111) (θ_O ? monolayer) is rather similar at low temperature, but much higher reactivity for dissociative adsorption of H₂O to form OH _adsis noted on the oxygen-dosed surface around room temperature.     

Helium scattering and work function investigation of co adsorption on Pt(111) and vicinal surfaces

CO adsorption on Pt(111) and vicinal Pt(111) surfaces has been studied by means of work function variation and He scattering measurements. AES and LEED were used mainly for correlations with other work. Special attention has been paid to the low coverage regime (θ_co < 0.1) with emphasis on surface structural dependencies. The minimum of the work function versus CO exposure curve occurs at a coverage less than 11% on “kink-free” surfaces. This is much lower than the hitherto commonly accepted value of 33%, and does not relate to any observed LEED superstructure. The value of Δφ_min depends strongly on the surface structure. For an “ideal” Pt(111) surface with a step density less than 10^?3 at a temperature of 300 K, Δφ_min = ?240 meV. The scattering cross section Σ of CO adsorbed on Pt(111) for 63 meV He is typically > 250 Ų, i.e. much larger than expected from the Van der Waals radii of He and CO. For two nominal Pt(111) surfaces with step densities of 10^?2 and less than 10^?3, respectively, the measured Σ values varied by a factor of three. This can be explained by preferential CO occupation of defect sites, which are already not “seen” by thermal helium. By comparing results on a stepped (997) and a kinked (12 11 9) Pt surface with similar defect densities, the kinks are proven to play a decisive role. They probably form saddles in the recently proposed activation barrier for migration between terrace and step sites.     

Observation of methoxy species on the Si(111)(7 × 7) surface — A vibrational study

Chemisorption of methanol on the Si(111)(7 × 7) surface has been studied at ～ 300 K using high-resolution electron energy loss spectroscopy. Methanol reacts with the Si(111) surface to form the stable surface species SiOCH₃ and SiH. The methoxy species (CH₃O) is bonded to the Si surface with a covalent bond formed between its oxygen end and the dangling bond of the Si(111) surface atom. A structural model for methanol chemisorbed on the Si(111) surface is proposed.     

The influence of potassium and the role of coadsorbed oxygen on the chemisorptive properties of Pt(100)

The adsorption of K on Pt(100) has been followed by thermal desorption spectroscopy (TDS) and Auger electron spectroscopy (AES); carbon monoxide was used as a probe for the modification of the chemical properties of K promoted surfaces. The role of subsequent adsorption of oxygen on the K modified surfaces has also been measured. For low potassium coverage (θ_K = 0 to 0.35), the mass-28 TDS peak temperature of adsorbed CO increases continuously with the K coverage, indicating an increase of the adsorption energy of CO which has been explained by a substantial charge donation from K into the $\text{2π}{}^1$ orbitals of CO via long range interactions through the platinum substrate. No oxygen uptake was detected after oxygen exposure at room temperature. For high potassium content (θ_K = 0.45 to 1), the mass-28 TDS peak temperature of coadsorbed CO is very narrow and remains constant at 680 K. We propose the formation of a COKPt surface complex which decomposes at 680 K, since K desorption is detected concomitantly to CO. On such K covered surfaces, the oxygen uptake is promoted, and it cancels the modifications of the surface properties induced by potassium.     

Low-energy electron diffraction,Auger electron spectroscopy,and thermal desorption studies of chemisorbed CO and O2 on the (111) and stepped [6(111) × (100)] iridium surfaces

The adsorption of CO, O₂, and H₂O was studied on both the (111) and [6(111) × (100)] crystal faces of iridium. The techniques used were LEED, AES, and thermal desorption. Marked differences were found in surface structures and heats of adsorption on these crystal faces. Oxygen is adsorbed in a single bonding state on the (111) face. On the stepped iridium surface an additional bonding state with a higher heat of adsorption was detected which can be attributed to oxygen adsorbed at steps. On both (111) and stepped iridium crystal faces the adsorption of oxygen at room temperature produced a (2 × 1) surface structure. Two surface structures were found for CO adsorbed on Ir(111); a (√3 × √3)R30° at an exposure of 1.5–2.5 L and a (2√3 × 2√3)R30° at higher coverage. No indication for ordering of adsorbed CO was found on the Ir(S)-[6(111) × (100)] surface. No significant differences in thermal desorption spectra of CO were found on these two faces. H₂O is not adsorbed at 300 K on either iridium crystal face. The reaction of CO with O₂ was studied on Ir(111) and the results are discussed. The influence of steps on the adsorption behaviour of CO and O₂ on iridium and the correlation with the results found previously on the same platinum crystal faces are discussed.     

Vibrational EELS studies of CO chemisorption on clean and carbided (111), (100) and (110) nickel surfaces

Room temperature adsorption of CO on bare and carbided (111), (100) and (110) nickel surfaces has been studied by vibrational electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS) and thermal desorption. On the clean (100) and (110) surfaces two configurations of CO adsorbed species, namely “terminal” and bridge bonded CO, are observed simultaneously. On Ni(111), only two-fold sites are involved. The presence of superficial carbon lowers markedly the bond strength of CO on Ni(111)C and Ni(110)C surfaces, while no adsorption has been detected on the Ni(100)C surface. Moreover, on the carbided Ni(110)C surface, the adsorption mode for adsorbed CO is changed with respect to the clean surface; only “terminal” CO is then observed.     

Reactions of formaldehyde and methanol on clean,carburized and oxidized Mo(100) surfaces

The reactions of formaldehyde and methanol have been studied on clean, carburized, and oxidized Mo(100) surfaces using temperature programmed reaction spectroscopy (TPRS). The thermal cracking of ethylene at 550 K and the adsorption of molecular oxygen at 1050 K were used to carburize and oxidize, respectively, the clean surface to saturation. Both the carbide and oxide surfaces showed (1×1) LEED features. Methanol decomposed to give hydrogen atoms and methoxy intermediates upon adsorption on the clean Mo(100) surface at 200 K. The methoxy intermediate was stable up to 340 K. Adsorbed carbon and oxygen suppressed the dissociation of the hydroxyl hydrogen from the alcohol and yielded a significantly different activity and selectivity compared to the very reactive clean surface. The binding energies for both formaldehyde and methanol on the three surfaces were similar, demonstrating the weak sensitivity of donor-acceptor bonds to surface modifiers. The results in this study were very similar to those previously observed for W(100) though different adlayer structures were present. This similarity suggested that the modification in surface reactivity was primarily a compositional effect.     

TPD, HREELS and UPS study of the adsorption and reaction of methyl nitrite (CH3ONO) on Pt(111)

The adsorption and reaction of methyl nitrite (CH₃ONO, CD₃ONO) on Pt(111) was studied using HREELS, UPS, TPD, AES, and LEED. Adsorption of methyl nitrite on Pt(111) at 105 K forms a chemisorbed monolayer with a coverage of 0.25 ML, a physisorbed second layer with the same coverage that desorbs at 134 K, and a condensed multilayer that desorbs at 117 K. The Pt(111) surface is very reactive towards chemisorbed methyl nitrite; adsorption in the monolayer is completely irreversible. CH₃ONO dissociates to form NO and an intermediate which subsequently decomposes to yield CO and H₂ at low coverages and methanol for CH₃ONO coverages above one-half monolayer. We propose that a methoxy intermediate is formed. At least some C–O bond breaking occurs during decomposition to leave carbon on the surface after TPD. UPS and HREELS show that some methyl nitrite decomposition occurs below 110 K and all of the methyl nitrite in the monolayer is decomposed by 165 K. Intermediates from methyl nitrite decomposition are also relatively unstable on the Pt(111) surface since coadsorbed NO, CO and H are formed below 225 K.     

NO在Ag/Pt(110)-(1×2)双金属表面的吸附：亚硝酸盐/硝酸盐表面物种的生成

以俄歇电子能谱、X射线光电子能谱和热脱附谱研究了室温下NO在Ag/Pt(110)-(1×2)双金属表面的吸附. 在该双金属表面上观察到了可能的亚硝酸盐/硝酸盐表面物种,其在更高温度下分解生成N₂. 然而,室温下NO在清洁Pt(110)表面和Ag-Pt合金表面上并不会生成这种亚硝酸盐/硝酸盐表面物种. 亚硝酸盐/硝酸盐表面物种的形成归因于高度配位不饱和Ag粒子的高活性及其与Pt基底之间的协同作用.