Hydrogen chemisorption on Ni(110) by high-resolution electron energy loss spectroscopy

High-resolution electron energy loss spectra of hydrogen-covered Ni(110) surfaces both at 100 and 300 K are presented. The adsorbed sites of hydrogen atoms are discussed.High-resolution electron energy loss spectra of hydrogen covered Ni(110) surfaces have been studied. Tentative models for the adsorbed sites of hydrogen atoms are as follows: (1) For the (2 × 1)-H surface, hydrogen is adsorbed in the three-coordinated sites of the rudimentary (111) face of the unreconstructed Ni(110) substrate. (2) For the low-temperature (1 × 2)-H surface, hydrogen is adsorbed in the three-coordinated sites and, probably, in the two-fold hollow sites of the distorted Ni(110) substrate. (3) For the room-temperature (1 × 2)-H surface, hydrogen is disorderedly adsorbed in the three-coordinated, two-fold hollow and short-bridge sites and, possibly, in the octahedral sites of the distorted Ni(110) substrate. Some of the unresolved problems in the above assignments are summarized: (1) Strictly, the three-coordinated sites above are somewhat different from those discussed in the molecular-beam diffraction study [5]. (2) For the low-temperature (1 × 2)-H surface, the loss associated with hydrogen in the two-fold hollow sites is apparently not observed. (3) Intensity changes of the three losses for the room-temperature (1 × 2)-H surface with increasing hydrogen pressure (Fig. 2) are not well understood.