SO2 Surface Chemistry on Metal Substrates

The surface chemistry, induced by thermal and non-thermal methods, of SO₂ on metal substrates is reviewed. The substrate temperature during dosing is important; regardless of metal, adsorption is dissociative at 300 K and molecular at 100 K. On Ni, Pd, and Pt, molecular adsorption occurs through the S and one O atom, and the molecular plane is perpendicular to the surface. However, on Ag and Cu, adsorption occurs only through the S with the molecular plane perpendicular to the surface. The differences can be attributed to the structure of the metal's molecular orbitals and their interactions with the SO₂ orbitals. Upon heating, SO₂ dissociates on all transition metal surfaces with the exception of Ag, Au, and Cu, where only molecular desorption occurs. On Pt, Fe, and Pd, additional reactions are observed between SO₂ and its dissociation products. The nonthermal reactions induced by photons and electrons for monolayer coverages of SO₂ on Ag (111) are dominated by molecular desorption. Desorption cross sections for 313 nm photons and 50eV electrons were 2.8 × 10^?20 cm² and ?1 × 10^?16 cm², respectively. Nonthermal excitation mechanisms and quenching processes as well as interesting characteristics of SO₂ under irradiation are also reviewed.