The sticking and dissociation of NH3 on W(110): a three-state model

The kinetics of the adsorption of NH₃ on W(110) and its subsequent dissociation have been investigated using molecular beam techniques and temperature programmed desorption (TPD) for surface temperatures ranging from 140 to 700 K. NH₃ shows a wide desorption peak around 270 K and a smaller peak at 170 K while H₂ and N₂, produced by dissociation, desorbed at 550 and 1350 K, respectively, with kinetic parameters similar to those reported for H and N generated by adsorption of H₂ and N₂. At normal incidence and for a surface temperature of 140 K, the NH₃ sticking coefficient was found to decrease from unity at a beam energy of 0.8 kcal/mol to 0.5 for a beam energy of 5.4 kcal/mol. The sticking coefficient generally decreases with surface temperature to a value of 0.05 at 700 K, but, for a 5.4 kcal/mol beam, it exhibits a relative minimum near 300 K. The reflection coefficient of NH₃, for an angle of incidence of 49°, increases with temperature and incident beam energy in agreement with the sticking measurements. The TPD peak positions, sticking and reflection data are all well reproduced by a three-state model based on simple kinetics. The model assumes that NH₃ initially traps in a molecular state and that dissociation occurs by thermal activation into an intermediate state. At no temperature is the sticking probability enhanced by increasing the kinetic energy of the incident molecules and there is no evidence for a direct dissociation channel which has a translational energy barrier less than 5.4 kcal/mol.     

NO adsorption and thermal behavior on Pd surfaces. A detailed comparative study

The adsorption and thermal behavior of NO on ‘flat’ Pd(111) and ‘stepped’ Pd(112) surfaces has been investigated by temperature programmed desorption (TPD), high resolution electron energy loss spectroscopy (HREELS), and electron stimulated desorption ion angular distribution (ESDIAD) techniques. NO is shown to molecularly adsorb on both Pd(111) and Pd(112) in the temperature range 100–373 K. NO thermally desorbs predominantly molecularly from Pd(111) near 500 K with an activation energy and pre-exponential factor of desorption which strongly depend on the initial NO surface coverage. In contrast, NO decomposes substantially on Pd(112) upon heating, with relatively large amounts of N₂ and N₂O desorbing near 500 K, in addition to NO. The fractional amount of NO dissociation on Pd(112) during heating is observed to be a strong function of the initial NO surface coverage. HREELS results indicate that the thermal dissociation of NO on both Pd(111) and Pd(112) occurs upon annealing to 490 K, forming surface-bound O on both surfaces. Evidence for the formation of sub-surface O via NO thermal dissociation is found only on Pd(112), and is verified by dissociative O₂ adsorption experiments. Both surface-bound O and sub-surface O dissolve into the Pd bulk upon annealing of both surfaces to 550 K. HREELS and ESDIAD data consistently indicate that NO preferentially adsorbs on the (111) terrace sites of Pd(112) at low coverages, filling the (001) step sites only at high coverage. This result was verified for adsorption temperatures in the range 100–373 K. In addition, the thermal dissociation of NO on Pd(112) is most prevalent at low coverages, where only terrace sites are occupied by NO. Thus, by direct comparison to NO/Pd(111), this study shows that the presence of steps on the Pd(112) surface enhances the thermal dissociation of NO, but that adsorption at the step sites is not the criterion for this decomposition.     

Visible light induced photodesorption of NO from the α-Cr2O3(0001) surface

Nitric oxide chemistry and photochemistry on the Cr-terminated surface of α-Cr₂O₃(0001) were examined using temperature programmed desorption (TPD), sticking coefficient measurements and photodesorption. NO exposed to α-Cr₂O₃(0001) at 100 K binds at surface Cr cation sites forming a strongly bound surface species that thermally desorbs at 320–340 K, depending on coverage. No thermal decomposition was detected in TPD in agreement with previous results in the literature. Sticking probability measurements at 100 K indicated near unity sticking for NO up to coverages of ~ 1.3 ML, with additional adsorption with higher exposures at decreased sticking probability. These results suggest that some Cr cation sites on the α-Cr₂O₃(0001) surface were capable of binding more than one NO molecule, although it is unclear whether this was as separate NO molecules or as dimers. Photodesorption of adsorbed NO was examined for surface coverages below the 1 ML point. Both visible and UV light were shown to photodesorb NO without detectable NO photodecomposition. Visible light photodesorption of NO occurred with a greater cross section than estimated using UV light. The visible light photodesorption event was not associated with bandgap excitation in α-Cr₂O₃(0001), but instead was linked to excitation of a surface Cr^3 +–NO^? charge transfer complex. These results illustrate that localized photoabsorption events at surface sites with unique optical properties (relative to the bulk) can result in unexpected surface photochemistry.     

O2 interaction with Pt{100}-hex-R0.7°: scattering, sticking and saturating

The interaction of oxygen with the Pt{100}-hex-R0.7° surface has been studied using supersonic molecular beams at incident translational energies from 0.06 to 0.9 eV and surface temperatures from 300 to 600 K. Scattering measurements show the existence of both intrinsic and extrinsic precursor states, and the trapping probability into these states is high at low incident energies. However, sticking probability measurements on the clean surface indicate that O₂ dissociative adsorption on Pt{100}-hex-R0.7° is a direct activated process, in contrast to that on Pt{100}-(1 × 1) or Pt{111}. Strong temperature enhancement of the initial sticking probability has been observed and accounted for partly by a dynamical barrier model. The sticking probability varies strongly with oxygen coverage, which is explained through computer simulations of island formation. The formation of small islands is demonstrated by TEAS measurements. Thermal desorption measurements show that, at high incident energies above 0.5 eV, new states are populated and higher coverages, up to a full monolayer, are reached.     

A LEED, TPD and HREELS investigation of NO adsorption on Sn/Pt(111) surface alloys

The adsorption of NO on Pt(111), and the (2 × 2)Sn/Pt(111) and (√3 × √3)R30°Sn/Pt(111) surface alloys has been studied using LEED, TPD and HREELS. NO adsorption produces a (2 × 2) LEED pattern on Pt(111) and a (2√3 × 2√3)R30° LEED pattern on the (2 × 2)Sn/Pt(111) surface. The initial sticking coefficient of NO on the (2 × 2)Sn/Pt(111) surface alloy at 100 K is the same as that on Pt(111), S₀ = 0.9, while the initial sticking coefficient of NO on the (√3 × √3)R30°Sn/Pt(111) surface decreases to 0.6. The presence of Sn in the surface layer of Pt(111) strongly reduces the binding energy of NO in contrast to the minor effect it has on CO. The binding energy of β-state NO is reduced by 8–10 kcal/mol on the Sn/Pt(111) surface alloys compared to Pt(111). HREELS data for saturation NO coverage on both surface alloys show two vibrational frequencies at 285 and 478 cm⁻¹ in the low frequency range and only one N-O stretching frequency at 1698 cm⁻¹. We assign this NO species as atop, bent-bonded NO. At small NO coverage, a species with a loss at 1455 cm⁻¹ was also observed on the (2 × 2)Sn/ Pt(111) surface alloy, similar to that observed on the Pt(111) surface. However, the atop, bent-bonded NO is the only species observed on the (√3 × √3)R30°Sn/Pt(111) surface alloy at any NO coverage studied.     

The reaction of nitrous oxide with rhodium

A clean rhodium filament at room temperature is highly reactive towards nitrous oxide. The oxygen atom of the N₂O molecule is adsorbed with a sticking probability of 0.45 whilst the nitrogen atoms appear in the gas phase as molecular nitrogen. The room temperature uptake of oxygen is about 5 × 10¹⁴ atom cm^?2 and is independent of nitrous oxide pressure in the range 3.5 × 10^?8 to 1.1 × 10^?6 torr. The adsorption curve is of typical form with an initial region of essentially constant sticking probability. For the first 80% of adsorption at room temperature the shape is satisfactorily accounted for if molecules are able to visit 4–5 adsorption sites whilst held in a weakly-bonded precursor state.     

Crystallographic anisotropy in chemisorption: Nitrogen on tungsten single crystal planes

A molecular beam technique for the determination of sticking probabilities and surface coverages was used in earlier work to investigate the adsorption of nitrogen on tungsten {110}, {111} and {100} single crystal planes. In the present paper these studies have been extended to the {310}, {320} and {411} planes. Absolute sticking probabilities and adatom surface coverages are reported for crystal temperatures between 90 K and 960 K. Crystallographic anisotropy in this system is exemplified by zero coverage sticking probabilities with the crystal at room temperature: {110}, 1̃0^?2; {111}, 0.08; {411}, 0.4; {100}, 0.59; {310}, 0.72; {320}, 0.73. Results for planes on the [001] zone are quantitatively described by a general model developed for adsorption on stepped planes as an extension to the precursor-state order-disorder model for adsorption kinetics of King and Wells. It is shown that nitrogen dissociation only takes place at vacant pairs of {100} sites, but that subsequently the chemisorbed adatoms so formed may migrate out onto {110} terraces. The results are critically analysed in terms of the available LEED and work function data for nitrogen on tungsten single crystal planes, and the general model developed by Adams and Germer.     

Dependence of the sticking probability on initial molecular orientation: NO on Ni(100)

The sticking probability of NO at Ni(100) was examined using a beam of orientated NO molecules. It is found to be higher for N-end collisions. The asymmetry of the sticking probability has been measured to be a linear function of the molecular degree of orientation. It was determined to be A = 0.7 ± 0.1 and nearly independent of coverage when normalized to the degree of orientation. The orientational dependence of the sticking probability as a function of coverage shows that the adsorption of the molecules cannot be described by a precursor model that neglects direct chemisorption.     

Molecular beam studies of ethanol oxidation on Pd(110)

The adsorption and decomposition of ethanol on Pd(110) has been studied by use of a molecular beam reactor and temperature programmed desorption. It is found that the major pathway for ethanol decomposition occurs via a surface ethoxy to a methyl group, carbon monoxide and hydrogen adatoms. The methyl groups can either produce methane (which they do with a high selectivity for adsorption below 250 K) or can further decompose (which they do with a high selectivity for adsorption above 350 K) resulting in surface carbon. If adsorption occurs above 250 K a high temperature (450 K) hydrogen peak is observed in TPD, resulting from the decomposition of stable hydrocarbon fragments. A competing pathway also exists which involves C---O bond scission of the ethoxy, probably caused by a critical ensemble of palladium atoms at steps, defects or due to a local surface reconstruction. The presence of oxygen does not significantly alter the decomposition pathway above 250 K except that water and, above 380 K, carbon dioxide are produced by reaction of the oxygen adatoms with hydrogen adatoms and adsorbed carbon monoxide respectively. Below 250 K, some ethanol can form acetate which decomposes around 400 K to produce carbon dioxide and hydrogen.     

Calorimetric studies of NO on Ni{2 1 1}: criteria for switching from dissociative to molecular adsorption

The coverage-dependent heats of adsorption and sticking probabilities in the interaction of nitric oxide with clean and oxygen pre-covered Ni{2 1 1} surfaces have been measured at 300 K using single crystal adsorption calorimetry. The results are consistent with a switch from dissociative to molecular chemisorption at 1 ML of O plus N adatoms. Initial dissociative adsorption is attributed to step sites with a heat of 400 kJ mol⁻¹. When steps are saturated with adatoms, adsorption proceeds molecularly with a heat of 160 kJ mol⁻¹. With 0.24 ML oxygen adatom pre-coverage, the initial heat is only 250 kJ mol⁻¹ and with 0.6 ML oxygen adatom, NO adsorption is only molecular with an initial heat of 160 kJ mol⁻¹. The NO sticking probability behaviour is consistent with this picture, with successive precursor mediated adsorption at step and terrace sites. The inhibition of dissociation above O, or O plus N, adatom coverages of 1 ML is attributed to the strong lateral repulsive interactions between adatoms, which would drive the dissociative heat of adsorption below that of molecular adsorption at higher coverages.     

Interactions du rhénium à haute température avec N2O sous basse pression

Starting at room temperature, N20 adsorption on rhenium proceeds dissociatively. Oxygen atoms remain on the surface while nitrogen molecules are desorbed. The overall process is characterized by an initial sticking coefficient value equal to 0.3 at 298 °K. In stationary conditions, and in a higher temperature range (> 1200°K) rhenium trioxide and oxygen atoms are the reaction products, depending on oxygen coverage on the surface. When the oxygen coverage is low, atomization, characterized by a reactive sticking probability of 0.2 is the only observable process. All the results are consistent with a model, previously proposed for the system oxygen-rhenium and oxygen-transition metals. The main differences in reaction rates between rhenium and oxygen or N₂O are interpreted in terms of saturation coverages.     

Temperature dependence of oxidation rate in clean Ge(111)

The temperature dependence of the sticking coefficient of oxygen on a clean Ge(111) surface has been investigated over a wide temperature range from 300 to 1100 °K using three methods. In the interval 300–600 °K a flash technique was used, the desorbed germanium oxide being detected by the time of flight mass-spectrometer. In the range from 500 to 1000 °K the sticking coefficient was measured from the pumping speed of oxygen by the sample surface, and in the range from 800 to 1100 °K the temperature dependence of the etching speed by oxygen was determined.The measured temperature dependence of the sticking coefficient is complex. It increases between 300 and 400 °K, remaining virtually constant from 400 to 500 °K with a new increase in the range from 500 to 1000 °K. A rapid fall in the sticking coefficient was observed at temperatures above 1000 °K.The dependence of the adsorption coverage on exposure has also been obtained for sample temperatures of 300, 350, 400 and 500 and 600 °K. The form of the adsorption curves differs considerably from a theoretical one based on a decrease in the sticking coefficient with coverage given by s = s₀(1 ? θ)². At 600 °K the sticking coefficient decreases more slowly than predicted by this equation. On the contrary, at 300 °K it begins to decrease rapidly at low coverages less than 0.1 of a monolayer.To explain the results it is assumed that oxygen molecules adsorb on the surface structural defects. At 300 °K such defects may be in the form of steps or other morphological disturbances on the surface, and above 500 °K they are probably equilibrium thermal defects, for example, surface vacancies.     

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.     

Interactions between NO and CO on Pt(111)

Temperature programmed desorption (TPD) of coadsorbed NO and CO on Pt(111) shows that no reaction occurs (less than 2%) up to the desorption temperature of NO. At 100 K, adsorption is competitive, but neither gas displaces the other from the surface. Coadsorbed CO causes the NO desorption temperature to be lowered by as much as 100 K, but NO does not affect the CO desorption temperature. TPD spectra for NO depend on which gas is adsorbed first, indicating that equilibrium between species is not established on the surface during desorption. Electron energy loss spectra show that the vibrational spectrum of each gas is only weakly affected by the other. When NO is adsorbed first, CO does not affect the ratio of bridged and terminal NO but lowers the frequencies of the bridged NO by approximately 50 cm^?1 and lowers the intensities of vibrational peaks of both species by a factor of about four. When CO is adsorbed first, the ratio of terminal to bridged NO increases for given coverage of NO, and the frequency of the bridged NO remains at the pure NO value. These results are explained in terms of CO island formation, repulsive interactions between NO and CO, and low adsorbate mobilities.     

An electron spectroscopic investigation of the adsorption of NO on Ni(111)

The adsorption, decomposition, and desorption of NO on the close packed Ni(111) surface have been investigated by XPS, XPS satellites, XAES, UPS, and LEED between 125 and 1000 K. At adsorption temperatures below 300 K a single molecular species (v) is formed with about unit sticking coefficient, which is interpreted as bridge-bonded; its saturation coverage is about 85% of that of CO, i.e. 0.5 relative to surface Ni atoms. Adsorption at 300 to 400 K yields dissociative adsorption (β) followed by molecular adsorption; above 400 K only dissociated species are formed. Upon heating, a full molecular layer dissociates only after some NO desorption (at 380–400 K), while dilute layers (below half coverage) dissociate already above 300 K without NO desorption. Together with quantitative findings this shows that for dissociation of one v-NO, the space of two is required. N₂ desorption from the β-layer occurs above 740 K; the oxygen staying behind diffuses into the crystal above 800 K. Readsorption of NO onto a β-layer or onto an oxygen precoverage at 125 K leads, besides to an α₁-state similar to v-NO, to another molecular state (α₂) which is interpreted as linearly bound. The resulting total coverage is considerably higher than in a virgin layer. This shows that the blocking of dissociation in a full v-layer is probably not due to β requiring the same sites, but to kinetic hindrance; an influence of β-induced surface reconstruction cannot be excluded, however. The LEED results agree with a previous report and are well compatible with the other results.     

Adsorption of N2 and N2O on Ni(7 5 5) surface: ab initio periodic density functional study

Adsorption of N₂ and N₂O at various sites on Ni(7 5 5) has been investigated by density functional theory (DFT) method (periodic DMol³). Several possible adsorption structures (attaching the nitrogen atom to the surface, or lying parallel) are found for both molecules. There is a clear binding energy preference of N₂ and N₂O for step sites in contrast to the case of CO. It is revealed that the decomposition of N₂O occurs exclusively near the step, but not on the terrace. Two decomposition channels can be considered; dissociative adsorption and spontaneous decomposition during TPD ramp. Three possible candidates for the precursor of the spontaneous decomposition of N₂O during TPD ramp are discussed.     

The adsorbate-induced removal of the Pt{100} surface reconstruction Part I: NO

The molecular adsorption of NO on both the reconstructed (hex) and unreconstructed (1 × 1) surfaces of Pt{100} has been studied using a combination of infrared reflection-absorption spectroscopy (IRAS) and low energy electron diffraction (LEED) at temperatures between 90 and 300 K. On the (1 × 1) surface at 300 K adsorbed NO gives rise to an N-O stretching band at initially 1596 cm⁻¹ shifting to 1641 cm⁻¹ at a coverage of θ = 0.5. The LEED pattern at this coverage is interpreted in terms of a c(4 × 2) structure in which all the molecules occupy a single type of adsorption site between the on-top and bridge positions. At temperatures below 300 K, a higher coverage disordered phase is observed, giving rise to an N-O stretching band at 1680 cm⁻¹ associated with an on-top NO species. On the (hex) phase surface above 210 K, NO adsorption gives rise to bands characteristic of adsorption on the (1 × 1) phase indicating that the reconstruction is immediately lifted. Below 200 K initial adsorption actually occurs directly on the (hex) phase, resulting in a band at 1680 cm⁻¹, which is assigned to on-top NO. This band increases in intensity until, at a critical coverage dependent on temperature, the (hex) → (1 × 1) surface phase transition is induced. This is indicated by the disappearance of the band at 1680 cm⁻¹ and its replacement by bands characteristic of adsorption on islands of the (1 × 1) structure.     

Adsorption and desorption of ammonia,hydrogen, and nitrogen on ruthenium (0001)

The adsorption of ammonia, hydrogen, and nitrogen on a Ru(0001) surface have been investigated by Auger electron spectroscopy, low-energy electron diffraction, and thermal flash desorption. The adsorption of ammonia on Ru(0001) can be divided into a low temperature mode (100 K) and a higher temperature mode (300–500 K). For a crystal temperature of 100 K the ammonia adsorbs into two weakly bound molecular γ states with s = 0.2. The ammonia desorbs as NH₃ molecules with desorption energies of 0.32 and 0.46 eV. At 300–500 K adsorption occurs via an activated process with a low sticking probability (s ? 2 × 10^?4).This adsorption is accompanied by dissociation and formation of an apparent (2 × 2) LEED pattern. Hydrogen adsorbs readily (s = 0.4) on Ru(0001) at 100 K and desorbs with 2nd order kinetics in the temperature range 350–450 K. Nitrogen does not appreciably adsorb on Ru(0001) even at 100 K; maximum nitrogen coverage obtained was estimated to be <2% of a monolayer. Changes in the ammonia flash desorption spectra after hydrogen preadsorption at 100 K will be discussed.     

Coverage dependence of neopentane trapping dynamics on Pt(111)

Adsorption probabilities for neopentane on Pt(111) were measured directly using supersonic molecular-beam techniques at coverages ranging from zero to monolayer saturation, incident translational energies between 18 and 110 kJ mol⁻¹ and incident angles between 0° and 60° at a surface temperature of 105 K. The adsorption probability was found to increase with coverage up to near monolayer saturation at all incident translational energies and incident angles. The coverage dependence of the adsorption probability predicted by a modified Kisliuk model with enhanced trapping into the second layer exhibits good quantitative agreement with the experimental values. The angular dependence of the adsorption probability decreases with increasing coverage, suggesting that the effective corrugation of the gas–surface interaction potential increases with the adsorbate coverage. The initial adsorption probability into the second layer onto the covered surface decreases from 0.95 to 0.75 with increasing energy over the energy range studied, and exhibits total energy scaling. A comparison with second-layer trapping data of simpler molecules onto covered Pt(111) indicates that the structural complexity of adsorbed neopentane molecules facilitates collisional energy transfer during adsorption.