Structure and bonding of ethoxy species adsorbed on transition metal surfaces

The interaction of the ethoxy radical with Cu(111), Ag(111), Pd(111) and Au(111) has been studied using a periodic density functional approach. The most stable adsorption site is the fcc with adsorption energies in the 1.1–2.2 eV interval. All analyses consistently indicate that ethoxy becomes negatively charged, that the presence of ethoxy slightly perturbs the electronic structure of the metallic surface, that the interaction is essentially of electrostatic character and not directional predicting a rather mobile species. The calculated adsorption energies are found to correlate almost linearly with the total net charge on the ethoxy moiety thus confirming that the electrostatic interactions dominate the bonding between this organic species and the underlying metallic surfaces.     

Carbon on transition metal surfaces

The review surveys the conditions of formation and properties of four forms of surface carbon on transition metals, to wit, adsorbed atoms and clusters, surface carbide and graphite, and their role in the physical and chemical processes on the surface. The first-order phase transition in the adlayer, when graphite islands coexist with carbon gas, are considered. The effect of intercalation, when atoms (Cs, K, Na, Ba, Pt, Si) penetrate spontaneously under the graphite islands physisorbed on the metal, and its mechanism are discussed. An analysis is made of the poisoning of platinum-group metal catalysts in the reaction of dissociation, when graphite islands characterized by extreme adsorption and catalytic passivity form in the adlayer. The method of CsCl dissociation to probe the surface carbon is treated. Attention is drawn to the adsorption of a number of atoms (Cs, K, Ba, Pt) on a graphite monolayer on metals, and the properties of such systems are discussed. The effects observed in coadsorption of CsCl molecules with K, Na, Ba, Tm atoms on a graphite monolayer on metals are covered. By analogy with the bulk carbides, surface carbides of fixed stoichiometry and very strong metal-carbon bonding have been revealed to form on the surface of transition metals (W, Re, Mo). The effect of displacement of surface carbon into the bulk of the metal stimulated by the adsorption of some atoms (Si, S, O) is discussed. The carbon clusters adsorbed on metals are considered. The transport of surface carbon, its desorption and diffusion between the surface and the bulk of the metal with a single- and double-phase adlayer are reviewed.     

On the structure and bonding of first row transition metal ozone carbonyl hydrides

Model complexes of the general form M(CO)m(H)n(O3) (m = 1-5, n = 0 or 1) between ozone and the transition metals Ti to Cu were studied by density functional theory (DFT) calculations. The CDA charge decomposition method was used to analyze the interaction between the metal atom and the ozone ligand in terms of the traditional donation-back-donation mechanisms. Information about bond strengths was extracted from an analysis of the electron density in terms of the theory of atoms in molecules (AIM). The bonding in the ozone-metal complex was also studied within the NBO paradigm. Bond dissociation energies were calculated to be positive for all the complexes studied. Considering all the criteria employed in this study to analyze the interaction between the ozone and the transition metal, the Fe-complex is predicted to be the most stable, whereas the copper complex has the weakest metal-ozone interaction.     

Potential-induced phase transition of low-index Au single crystal surfaces in propylene carbonate solution

In situ scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) was employed to examine the surface structures of Au(111), Au(100), and Au(110) single crystals in propylene carbonate (PC) containing tetrabutylammonium perchlorate (TBAP). All three electrodes exhibited potential-induced phase transition between the reconstructed and unreconstructed (1 × 1) structures at negative and positive potentials, respectively. The potential-induced phase transition of the Au electrode surfaces is attributed to the interaction of the TBA cation and the perchlorate anion at the electrode surface, which is similar to that which takes place in aqueous solutions. In addition to static atomic structures, dynamic processes of both the reconstruction and the lifting of the reconstruction were investigated by means of in situ STM. The lifting of reconstructed Au(111)-(√3 × 22) on Au(111) to the (1 × 1) structure is completed within 1 min at a positive potential. The diffusion of Au atoms on the Au(100) plane in the PC solution proceeds more rapidly than that in the aqueous solution, suggesting that the PC solvent plays an important role in accelerating the diffusion of Au atoms.     

Hydrogen and dihydrogen bonding of transition metal hydrides

Intermolecular interactions between a prototypical transition metal hydride WH(CO)₂NO(PH₃)₂ and a small proton donor H₂O have been studied using DFT methodology. The hydride, nitrosyl and carbonyl ligand have been considered as site of protonation. Further, DFT-D calculations in which empirical corrections for the dispersion energy are included, have been carried out. A variety of pure and hybrid density functionals (BP86, PW91, PBE, BLYP, OLYP, B3LYP, B1PW91, PBE0, X3LYP) have been considered, and our calculations indicate the PBE functional and its hybrid variation are well suited for the calculation of transition metal hydride hydrogen and dihydrogen bonding. Dispersive interactions make up for a sizeable portion of the intermolecular interaction, and amount to 20–30% of the bond energy and to 30–40% of the bond enthalpy. An energy decomposition analysis reveals that the H?H bond of transition metal hydrides contains both covalent and electrostatic contributions.     

Hydrogen-induced reconstruction of transition metal surfaces

This study compares the results of a number of recent papers on hydrogen adsorption on Rh(110), Rh(311) and Fe(211) as well as on Ni(111) and Fe(110) surfaces. It particularly deals with the structural aspect of these low energy electron diffraction (LEED) investigations and correlates them, if available, with respective thermodesorption data. Upon dissociative adsorption by a non activated process hydrogen induces local displacements of the atoms about the adsorption sites. With increasing coverage these displacements order to form a sequence of weakly reconstructed phases and gradually lift the surface layer relaxation of the formerly clean surface. Along close packed rows of metal surface atoms hydrogen atoms tend to occupy threefold coordinated adsorption sites which, in turn, arrange in single or double chains. The coverage dependent periodicity of these adlayer structure elements together with the respective shift buckling of the substrate surface generates the observed superstructures. Since not only open but also close packed surfaces show this weak (and sometimes strong) reconstruction upon hydrogen adsorption it should be generally considered in all adsorption systems.     

C-N coupling on transition metal surfaces: a density functional theory study

We have investigated the formation of C-N bonds from individual atoms and single hydrogenated moieties on a series of transition metals. These reactions play a role in HCN formation at high oxygen coverage, also known as Andrussow oxidation, and they are fundamental to understand the ability of other materials to form part of alloys where Pt is the major component. Dehydrogenations take place quite easily under these high oxygen conditions and thus, the C+N, HC+N, and N+CH recombinations to form HCN or its isomer CNH might represent the rate-limiting steps for the reaction. For all the metals in the present study we have found that the activation energy for the reactions between H(x)C and NH(y) (x,y = 0,1) involved in C-N formation follow a linear relationship with the adsorption energy of the N atom. This is due to the common nature of all these transition states, where N-containing fragments get activated from three-fold hollow sites to bridge positions. The slopes of the linear dependence, though, depend on the valence of the N fragment, i.e., smaller slopes are found for NH moieties with respect to N ones.     

Structure and bonding between an aryl group and metal surfaces

Modifying solid surfaces with aryl groups has many potential applications. Using first principles density functional theory methods, we investigated the trend of the structure and bonding of the phenyl group (C6H5, the simplest aryl group) on selected transition metals across the periodic table. We found that the bond between C6H5 and metal surfaces is chemical in nature. Decreasing bond strength is found from left to right, concurrent with a switching of the preferred orientation for C6H5 from the flat-lying configuration to the upright configuration. This switching is attributed to the increasing of d-electrons; that is, early transition metals, lacking d-electrons, favor the carbon-metal pi-bond and therefore the flat-lying configuration, while late transition metals rich in d-electrons prefer the carbon-metal sigma-bond and thus the upright fashion. C6H5 is also found to undergo beta-dehydrogenation on early transition metals. This work invites further theoretical and experimental research on the aryl-solid interface.     

Importance of electronegativity differences and surface structure in molecular dissociation reactions at transition metal surfaces

The dissociative adsorption of N2 has been studied at both monatomic steps and flat regions on the surfaces of the 4d transition metals from Zr to Pd. Using density functional theory (DFT) calculations, we have determined and analyzed the trends in both straight reactivity and structure sensitivity across the periodic table. With regards to reactivity, we find that the trend in activation energy (Ea) is determined mainly by a charge transfer from the surface metal atoms to the N atoms during transition state formation, namely, the degree of ionicity of the N-surface bond at the transition state. Indeed, we find that the strength of the metal-N bond at the transition state (and therefore the trend in Ea) can be predicted by the difference in Mulliken electronegativity between the metal and N. Structure sensitivity is analyzed in terms of geometric and electronic effects. We find that the lowering of Ea due to steps is more pronounced on the right-hand side of the periodic table. It is found that for the early transition metals the geometric and electronic effects work in opposition when going from terrace to step active site. In the case of the late 4d metals, however, these effects work in combination, producing a more marked reduction in Ea.     

The adsorption and dissociation of O2 on Cu low-index surfaces

The extended LEPS of O(2)-Cu single crystal plane systems is constructed by means of 5-MP (the 5-parameter Morse potential). Both the adsorption and dissociation of O(2) on Cu low-index surfaces are investigated with extended LEPS in detail. All critical characteristics of the system that we obtain, such as adsorption geometry, binding energy, eigenvalues for vibration, etc., are in good agreement with the experimental results. Our calculated results suggest there are many differences between O(2)-Cu (110) and O(2)-Pd (110) systems. On a Cu (110) surface, O(2) adsorbs in a tilted configuration and there are two lowest energy dissociation channels along the [001] and [10] directions, respectively. We speculate that the adsorption geometry of O(2) on the metal surfaces relates to the lattice constant of metal. Meanwhile, We use the concepts of the molecular dissociation limit and the surface dissociation distance to analyze again the dissociation mechanism of the O(2) on the low-index surfaces.     

Use of proton NMR to study low symmetry bonding effects in transition metal complexes

The 300 MHZ proton NMR chemical shifts of the mixed complex (salicylaldehyde)(acetyl-acetone)ethylenediimino nickel(II) and the two corresponding non-mixed complexes were studied. The differences in chemical shifts were very small, ∼ 0.05 ppm, but by looking at both the mixed and non-mixed species in the same solution relative values could be determined. The differences in chemical shifts were attributed to both a geometry effect and a basicity effect.     

Valence and extra-valence orbitals in main group and transition metal bonding

We address the issue first raised by Maseras and Morokuma with regard to the questionable treatment of empty p-orbitals in the algorithm for natural atomic/bond orbitals (NAOs, NBOs) and associated natural population analysis. We quantify this issue in terms of the numerical error (root-mean-square density deviation) resulting from the two alternative treatments of empty p-sets, leading to distinct NAOs, atomic charges, and idealized Lewis structural representations. Computational application of this criterion to a broad spectrum of main group and transition group species (employing both single- and multi-structure resonance models) reveals the interesting general pattern of (i) relatively insignificant differences for normal-valent species, where a single resonance structure is usually adequate, but (ii) clear superiority of the standard NAO algorithm for hypervalent species, where multi-resonance character is pronounced. These comparisons show how the divisive issue of "valence shell expansion" in transition metal bonding is deeply linked to competing conceptual models of hypervalency (viz., "p-orbital participation" in skeletal hybridization vs. 3c/4e resonance character). The results provide a quantitative measure of superiority both for the standard NAO evaluation of atomic charges as well as the general 3c/4e (A: B-C<-->A-B :C resonance) picture of main- and transition-group hypervalency.     

Adsorption of carbon monoxide and oxygen on transition metal surfaces: A comparative study of the results from electron spectroscopy and theoretical calculations

Results of investigations on the adsorption of CO andO ₂ on transition metal surfaces by employinguv and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and electron energy loss spectroscopy (eels) are presented. Results of molecular orbital calculations on adsorbed CO and O₂ are also discussed. Some of the interesting aspects discussed are, satellites in the O(ls) region due to adsorbed CO, vibrationaleels of adsorbed O₂ and dissociation energy profiles of adsorbed O₂ on clean surfaces as well as surfaces covered with potassium or presorbed atomic oxygen. Contribution No 245 from the Solid State and Structural Chemistry Unit.     

On the bonding of first-row transition metal cations to guanine and adenine nucleobases

The binding of first-row transition metal monocations (Sc+-Cu+) to N7 of guanine and N7 or N3 of adenine nucleobases has been analyzed using the hybrid B3LYP density functional theory (DFT) method. The nature of the bonding is mainly electrostatic, the electronic ground state being mainly determined by metal-ligand repulsion. M+-guanine binding energies are 18-27 kcal/mol larger than those of M+-adenine, the difference decreasing along the row. Decomposition analysis shows that differences between guanine and adenine mainly arise from Pauli repulsion and the deformation terms, which are larger for adenine. Metal cation affinity values at this level of calculation are in very good agreement with experimental data obtained by Rodgers et al. (J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2002, 124, 2678) for adenine nucleobases.     

On the role of d electrons in chemisorption and catalysis on transition metal surfaces

A new model is proposed for the role of the d electrons in chemisorption and catalysis on transition metal surfaces. In this model, the d electrons remain localized on the atoms and do not participate in forming dsp hybrid bonds with the adsorbate. However, electrons in doubly-occupied d orbitals can be promoted to anti-bonding or non-bonding valence orbitals. These additional electronic configurations help increase the binding energy of the adsorbate and help stabilize reaction intermediates. This effect is enhanced by spatial rotation of the singly-occupied d orbitals which become perpendicular to the adsorbate. The singly-occupied d orbitals are also able to recouple their spins during the reaction, allowing the reaction to proceed on otherwise forbidden reaction paths.     

Electronic structures and chemical bonding in 4d transition metal monohalides

Bond distances, vibrational frequencies, dipole moments, dissociation energies, electron affinities, and ionization potentials of MX (XM = Y-Cd, X = F, Cl, Br, I) molecules in neutral, positively, and negatively charged ions were studied by density functional method, B3LYP. The bonding patterns were analyzed and compared with both the available data and across the series. It was found that besides ionic component, covalent bonds are formed between the 4d transition metal s, d orbitals, and the p orbital of halogen. For both neutral and charged molecules, the fluorides have the shortest bond distance, iodides the longest. Although the opposite situation is observed for vibrational frequency, that is, fluorides have the largest value, iodides the smallest. For neutral and anionic species, the dissociation energy tends to decrease with the increasing atomic number from Y to Cd, suggesting the decreasing or weakening of the bond strength. For cationic species, the trend is observed from Y to Ag.     

A comparative study on the thermal decomposition of some transition metal carboxylates

Thermal decomposition of transition metal malonates, MCH₂C₂O₄?xH₂O and transition metal succinates, M(CH₂)₂C₂O₄?xH₂O (M=Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn) has been studied employing TG, DTG, DTA, XRD, SEM, IR and Mössbauer spectroscopic techniques. After dehydration, the anhydrous metal malonates and succinates decompose directly to their respective metal oxides in the temperature ranges 310–400 and 400–525°C, respectively. The oxides obtained have been found to be nanosized. The thermal stability of succinates have been found to be higher than that of the respective malonates.