Photoexcited processes at metal and alloy surfaces: electronic structure and adsorption site

Photoexcited processes of NO and CO at photon energies ranging from 2.3 to 6.4 eV are investigated on Pt(111), Ni(111) and Pt(111)---Ge surface alloys by reflection-absorption infrared spectroscopy and resonance-enhanced multiphoton ionization. The branching between three competitive processes of desorption, recapture and dissociation upon laser irradiation is dramatically changed on the three surfaces. On Pt(111), NO is either photodesorbed or photodissociated depending on the coverage, while NO is exclusively photodissociated on Ni(111). UV-photon irradiation of NO on Pt(111)---Ge, on the other hand, induces only desorption of NO. Desorption of CO bound at the on-top site of Pt(111) is induced by laser irradiation. The electronic mechanism for photodesorption and competitive branching is discussed in terms of the electronic structure of the substrate and the adsorbate.     

AES and LEED studies of xenon adsorption on (100)NaCl

The thermal and electro impact behaviour of NO adsorbed on Pt(111) and Pt(110) have been studied by LEED, Auger spectroscopy, and thermal desorption. NO was found to adsorb non-dissociatively and with very similar low coverage adsorption enthalpies on the two surfaces at 300 K. In both cases, heating the adlayer resulted in partial dissociation and led to the appearance of N₂ and O₂ in the desorption spectra. The (111) surface was found to be significantly more active in inducing the thermal dissociation of NO, and on this surface the molecule was also rapidly desorbed and dissociated under electron impact. Cross sections for these processes were obtained, together with the desorption cross section for atomically bound N formed by dissociation of adsorbed NO. Electron impact effects were found to be much less important on the (110) surface. The results are considered in relation to those already obtained by Ertl et al. for NO adsorption on Ni(111) and Pd(111), and in particular, the unusual desorption kinetics of N₂ production are considered explicitly. Where appropriate, comparisons are made with the behaviour of CO on Pt(111) and Pt(110), and the adsorption kinetics of NO on the (110) surface have been examined.     

The surface composition of silica-supported Pt-Ni alloys

In this work we have determined the surface composition of small supported Pt-Ni alloy particles (diameter 2–5 nm) by means of infrared spectra of adsorbed CO and NO. By dosing carbon monoxide and nitric oxide in the appropriate sequence to the alloys, carbon monoxide is adsorbed selectively on the Pt atoms and nitric oxide on the Ni atoms. On the alloy surfaces no reaction occurs between these adsorbed species as the bands observed do not change upon standing in vacuo. With increasing bulk nickel concentration the intensity of the CO/Pt band drops, whereas the intensity of the NO/Ni band increases. Also the band maximum of the CO/Pt band shifts continuously to lower wavenumbers and the shape of the NO/Ni band changes. It is concluded that the composition of the surface is almost equal to that of the bulk.     

Effect of combination of noble metals and metal oxide supports on catalytic reduction of NO by H2

We investigated the effects of combination of noble metals M (Rh, Pd, Ir, Pt) and metal oxide supports S (Al₂O₃, SiO₂, ZrO₂, CeO₂) on the NO + H₂ reaction using planar catalysts with M/S two layered thin films on Si substrate. In this study, NO reduction ability per metal atom were evaluated with a specially designed apparatus employing pulse valves for the injection of reactant molecules onto catalysts and a time-of-flight mass spectrometer to measure multiple transient products: NH₃, N₂ and N₂O simultaneously as well as with an atomic force microscopy to observe the surface area of metal particles. The catalytic performances of Rh and Ir catalysts were hardly affected by a choice of a metal oxide support, while Pd and Pt catalysts showed different catalytic activity and selectivity depending on the metal oxide supports. This assortment is consistent with ability to dissociate NO depending on metals without the effect of any support materials. There, the metals to the left of Rh and Ir on the periodic table favor dissociation of NO and those to the right of Pd and Pt tend to show molecular adsorption of NO. Therefore, the catalytic property of noble metals could be assorted into two groups, i.e. Rh and Ir group whose own property would mainly dominate the catalytic performance, and Pd and Pt group whose interaction with metal oxides supports would clearly contribute to the reaction of NO with H₂. NO reduction activity of Pd and Pt was found to be promoted above that of Rh and Ir, provided that Pd and Pt were supported by CeO₂ and ZrO₂.     

Surface structure effects in the adsorption and desorption of nitric oxide on rhodium

The adsorption, desorption and decomposition of NO on Rh surfaces have been investigated using field electron microscopy (FEM) and thermal desorption spectroscopy (TDS). At 77 K NO is molecularly adsorbed on all surfaces of Rh. At room temperature, however, about 30% of NO adsorbed on the rough surfaces is dissociated. The work function change Δφ due to NO adsorption increases as the surface becomes rougher. The results suggest the following order in Δφ: 0.93 eV = (100) < (111) < (511) < (410) < (331), (533) < (321) < (110) < (650) < (531), (210) = 1.4 eV. Upon heating the tip covered with molecular NO the FEM results suggest that the (321) surface is most active in the NO bond scission. The smooth surfaces are least effective in NO dissociation. The most likely interpretation of the FEM results is that the activity in NO bond scission increases in the following order: (111), (110) < (100), (511) < (650) < (410) < (210) < (331), (533) < (321). These results are discussed in relation to literature data concerning the dissociation of NO on the noble metals of Group VIII.     

Density functional theory study of structural,electronic,and thermal properties of Pt,Pd, Rh,Ir, Os and PtPdX(X= Ir,Os, and Rh) alloys

The structural, electronic, mechanical, and thermal properties of Pt, Pd, Rh, Ir, Os metals and their alloys Pt Pd X(X= Ir, Os and Rh) are studied systematically using ab initio density functional theory. The groundstate properties such as lattice constant and bulk modulus are calculated to find the equilibrium atomic position for stable alloys. The electronic band structure and density of states are calculated to study the electronic behavior of metals on making their alloys. The electronic properties substantiate the metallic behavior for all studied materials. The firstprinciples density functional perturbation theory as implemented in quasi-harmonic approximation is used for the calculations of thermal properties.We have calculated the thermal properties such as the Debye temperature, vibrational energy, entropy and constant-volume specific heat. The calculated properties are compared with the previously reported experimental and theoretical data for metals and are found to be in good agreement. Calculated results for alloys could not be compared because there is no data available in the literature with such alloy composition.     

Effect of the electronic structure of a substrate on the photoinduced behavior of adsorbed NO and CO molecules

Photoprocesses in systems produced by adsorption of NO and CO molecules on the Pt(111) and Ni(111) surfaces, as well as on the (111) surface of Pt-Ge alloy, is studied by the IR absorption spectroscopy, resonant multiphoton ionization, and UV photoelectron spectroscopy methods. The energy of photons varies between 2.3 and 6.4 eV. The character of the processes depends on the type of the metallic substrate. On the Pt(111) surface, NO molecules dissociate or are desorbed, depending on the degree of coverage. On the Ni(111) surface, the molecules only dissociate. Conversely, NO molecules adsorbed on the (111) surface of the Pt-Ge alloy are only desorbed from the surface. In the CO/Pt(111) and CO/Pt(111)-Ge systems, CO molecules adsorbed on on-top adsorption sites are desorbed under the action of the photons, while those occupying bridging adsorption sites change their properties insignificantly. A model of photoinduced processes is suggested. According to this model, the lifetime of a state excited by charge transfer between the valence band of the metal and the 2π-antibonding molecular orbital plays a decisive part in the occurrence of one or the other of these processes.     

NO dissociation pathways on Rh(1 0 0), (1 1 0), and (1 1 1) surfaces: A comparative density functional theory study

The chemisorption and dissociation pathways of NO on the Rh(1 0 0), (1 1 0), and (1 1 1) surfaces are studied by the plane-wave density functional theory (DFT) with CASTEP program. In addition, the electronic and geometrical effects that affect the NO dissociation reactions have been investigated in detail. The calculation results are presented as following: The effective activation energies of the best NO dissociation pathways on the Rh(1 0 0), the Rh(1 1 0), and the Rh(1 1 1) are 0.63, 0.66 and 1.77 eV, respectively. The activity of the Rh planes for NO dissociation is in the order of Rh(1 0 0) ≈ Rh(1 1 0) > Rh(1 1 1). The low dissociation barrier for Rh(1 0 0) and Rh(1 1 0) is associated with the existence of a lying-down NO structure which acts as a precursor for dissociation. By Mulliken population analysis and structure analysis, both electronic and geometrical effects are found to affect the NO dissociation reactions, but the geometrical effect exceed the electronic. The energy decomposition scheme has been used to provide further insight into the NO dissociation reactions. Based on the calculations, the interaction energy between N and O in the transition state on the Rh(1 1 1) is found much larger than that on the Rh(1 0 0) and the Rh(1 1 0). The major differences of should originate from the variation of the bonding competition effect.     

Exploring the molecular mechanisms of reactions at surfaces

The study of the molecular mechanism of chemical reactions occurring at solid surfaces is of primary importance to understand heterogeneous catalysis from a microscopic point of view. The present paper reviews the state of the art methods of electronic structure and the surface models currently used in this type of studies by making use of three different examples. Those are the decomposition of azomethane on Pt(111), the study of the different selectivity of Cu(111) and Ag(111) towards ethene partial oxidation and the comparative study of NO dissociation on Rh(111) and bimetallic RhCu(111) surfaces. These examples illustrate the power of the electronic structure computational approaches to predict the structure and stability of different intermediates and to unravel the molecular mechanism of these surface reactions.     

Direct reaction of adsorbed molecular oxygen with hydrazine on a clean Pt(111) surface

The oxidation of hydrazine on the clean Pt(111) surface has been investigated by temperature-programmed reaction spectroscopy (TPRS) in the temperature range 130–800 K. Direct reaction of molecular oxygen is observed on the Pt(111) surface for the first time, as indicated by the desorption of nitrogen beginning at 130 K with a maximum rate at 145 K, below the molecular oxygen dissociation temperature. Direct reaction of hydrazine with adsorbed molecular oxygen results in the formation of water and nitrogen. With excess hydrazine, all surface oxygen is reacted, forming water. When only adsorbed atomic oxygen is present, the low-temperature nitrogen yield decreases by a factor of 3 and the peak nitrogen desorption temperature increases to 170 K. No high-temperature (450–650 K) nitrogen desorption characteristic of nitrogen atom recombination is seen, indicating that during oxidation the nitrogen-nitrogen bond in hydrazine remains intact, as observed previously for hydrazine decomposition on the Pt(111) surface and hydrazine oxidation on rhodium. Two water desorption peaks are observed, characteristic of desorption-limited (175 K) and reaction-limited (200 K) water evolution from the Pt(111) surface. For low coverages of hydrazine, only the reaction-limited water desorption is observed, previously attributed to water formed from adsorbed hydroxyl groups. When excess hydrazine is adsorbed, the usual hydrazine decomposition products, H₂, N₂ and NH₃, are also observed. No nitrogen oxide species (NO, NO₂ and N₂O) were observed in these experiments, even when excess oxygen was available on the surface.     

Adsorption behavior and reaction properties of NO and CO on Rh(1 1 1)

Reactions between NO and CO on Rh(1 1 1) surfaces were investigated using infrared reflection absorption spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and temperature-programmed desorption. NO adsorbed on the fcc, atop, and hcp sites in that order, whereas CO adsorbed initially on the atop sites and then on the hollow (fcc + hcp) sites. The results of experiments with NO exposure on CO-preadsorbed Rh(1 1 1) surfaces indicated that the adsorption of NO on the hcp sites was inhibited by preadsorption of CO on the atop sites, and NO adsorption on the atop and fcc sites was inhibited by CO preadsorbed on each type of site, which indicates that NO and CO competitively adsorbed on Rh(1 1 1). From a Rh(1 1 1) surface with coadsorbed NO and CO, N₂ was produced from the dissociation of fcc-NO, and CO₂ was formed by the reaction of adsorbed CO with atomic oxygen from dissociated fcc-NO. The CO₂ production increased remarkably in the presence of hollow-CO. Coverage of fcc-NO and hollow-CO on Rh(1 1 1) depended on the composition ratio of the NO/CO gas mixture, and a gas mixture with NO/CO ? 1/2 was required for the co-existence of fcc-NO and hollow-CO at 273 K.     

Trends in stability, elastic and electronic properties of cubic Rh, Ir, Pd and Pt carbides depending on carbon content: MC versus M4C from first-principles calculations

First principles FLAPW-GGA calculations have been performed to understand the peculiarities of stability, elastic, electronic properties and chemical bonding for cubic carbides of four noble metals M=Rh, Pd, Ir and Pt depending on carbon stoichiometry: MC versus M₄C. Our main findings are as follows: (i) in contrast to mono-carbides MC with positive formation energies E_form>0, carbon-deficient sub-carbides M₄C are stable (E_form<0), thus carbon stoichiometry is one of the major factors determining successful synthesis of these materials, and (ii) as distinct from the majority of other 3d-5d metals (including Pd and Pt examined here), an unusual effect of Rh and Ir “metallization” and the increasing of ductility for these metals owing to the introduction of carbon has been established.     

Growth and sacrificial oxidation of transition metal nanolayers

Growth and oxidation of Au, Pt, Pd, Rh, Cu, Ru, Ni and Co layers of 0.3-4.3 nm thickness on Mo have been investigated with ARPES and AFM. Co and Ni layers oxidize while the Mo remains metallic. For nobler metals, the on top O and oxidation state of subsurface Mo increase, suggesting sacrificial e⁻ donation by Mo. Au and Cu, in spite of their significantly lower surface free energy, grow in islands on Mo and actually promote Mo oxidation. Applications of the sacrificial oxidation in nanometer thin layers exist in a range of nanoscopic devices, such as nano-electronics and protection of e.g. multilayer X-ray optics for astronomy, medicine and lithography.     

Adsorption of hydrogen on rhodium; Comparison with hydrogen adsorption on platinum and iridium

The adsorption of hydrogen on Rh has been studied (i) on a single crystal tip using field electron microscopy, and (ii) on a filament carrying this tip, using thermal desorption spectroscopy. The results are compared to those of other Group VIII metals. An isosteric heat of adsorption of 19 kcal/mole was found at low coverage, decreasing slightly with increasing coverage. This heat is substantially lower than that on Ru and Ir, determined by the same method. The work function increases by 0.4 eV, a value comparable to data reported for Ni and Ru, but significantly larger than those of Ir and Pt. An electropositive state of hydrogen as observed for Pt and Ir was not found for Rh. A small fraction of the adsorbed hydrogen is not desorbed at temperatures where other transition metal surfaces are completely denuded. This β₂-hydrogen which is desorbed only at 600–800 K, is tentatively assigned to a subsurface species.     

Physical and chemical properties of bimetallic surfaces

Recent studies dealing with the structural, electronic, chemical and catalytic properties of well-defined bimetallic surfaces are reviewed. LEED and STM show that two metals interacting on a surface can form compounds with structures not seen in bulk alloys. Many novel phenomena related to the kinetics of growth of metals on metals have been discovered. The knowledge gathered in this area provides a solid basis for the synthesis of new materials with applications in areas of catalysis, electro-chemistry and microelectronics. In many cases, the formation of a surface bimetallic bond induces large changes in the band structure of the metals. For surfaces that contain transition or s,p metals, the strongest metal-metal interactions occur in systems that combine a metal with a valence band almost fully occupied and a metal in which the valence band is almost empty. A very good correlation is found between the electronic perturbations in a bimetallic system and its cohesive energy. Bimetallic bonds that display a large stability usually involve a significant redistribution of charge around the metal centers. The electronic perturbations affect the reactivity of the bonded metals toward small molecules (CO, NO, H₂, O₂, S₂, C₂H₄, CH₃OH, etc.). For supported monolayers of Ni, Pd, Pt and Cu a correlation is observed between the shifts in surface core-level binding energies and changes in the desorption temperature of CO from the metal adlayers. Examples are provided which demonstrate the utility of single-crystal studies for understanding the role of “ensemble” and “ligand” effects in bimetallic catalysts.     

fcc金属层错能的EAM法计算

采用嵌入原子法(EAM)计算了Cu，Ag，Au，Ni，Al，Rh，Ir，Pd，Pt和Pb等10种面心立方(fcc)金属的层错能，除Rh和Ir两种金属外，其他金属的计算结果和实验结果基本一致. 关键词： 面心立方金属 层错能 EAM     

用发射光谱分析法检测微量贵金属

Ｐｔ,Ｐｄ,Ｒｈ,Ａｕ能溶于王水及盐酸加双氧水中,而Ｒｈ溶于热硫酸或浓盐酸加氯酸钙,试验中可用王水溶矿,在王水或盐酸介质和氯化亚锡存在下用负载二苯基硫脲的混合碳粉富集痕量的Ｐｔ（Ⅱ）、Ｐｄ（Ⅱ）,Ｒｈ（Ⅰ）,Ａｕ（Ⅱ）络合物,吸附载体灰化后用发光谱测定,测定灵敏度达到了１×１０＾－９。     

Role of strain and ligand effects in the modification of the electronic and chemical properties of bimetallic surfaces

Periodic density functional calculations are used to illustrate how the combination of strain and ligand effects modify the electronic and surface chemical properties of Ni, Pd, and Pt monolayers supported on other transition metals. Strain and the ligand effects are shown to change the width of the surface d band, which subsequently moves up or down in energy to maintain a constant band filling. Chemical properties such as the dissociative adsorption energy of hydrogen are controlled by changes induced in the average energy of the d band by modification of the d-band width.     

Ethylene adsorption on thin films of Ni,Pd, Pt,Cu, Au and Al; Work function measurements

The changes in work function φ upon adsorption of C₂H₄ on clean film surfaces of six fcc metals (Ni, Pd, Pt, Cu, Au and Al) have been followed by means of photoelectron emission at 293 K. A marked difference was observed in the behaviour between Ni, Pd and Al on the one side and on Cu, Au and Pt on the other side: while with Ni, Pd and Al, φ as a function of coverage goes through a maximum, with Cu, Au and Pt, φ only decreases. In the discussion, the data obtained by work function measurements are related to other literature data. Several films covered with C₂H₄species were also submitted to a heat treatment while in other experiments H₂ was admitted to the surface covered by C₂H₄ species. In some experiments C₂h₄ was admitted to surfaces covered by H₂. In all cases φ was measured. The experiments reveal that C₂h₄is absorbed only reversibly on Cu and Au. On Ni, Pd and Pt, C₂H₄ is adsorbed initially with dissociation and this leads to an increase in φ on Ni and Pd and a decrease on Pt. Hydrogenated reactive species contribute to the lowering of φ observed with Ni, Pd and Pt. As with Cu and Au also on Ni, Pd and Pt a weakly bound C₂h₄is observed which leads to a decrease in φ as well. The behaviour of φ indicates that upon Al, C₂h₄ adsorbs first dissociatively to a small extent, while the weakly bound C₂H₄species act as intermediates for strongly adsorbed species which were observed after some time.     

Electronic structure of octane on Cu(1 1 1) and Ni(1 1 1) studied by near edge X-ray absorption fine structure

The electronic structure of an octane film grown on Cu(1 1 1) and Ni(1 1 1) was studied using C K-edge near edge X-ray absorption fine structure (NEXAFS). A pre-peak was observed on the bulk edge onset for the 1 ML thick octane films on the metal substrates. The pre-peak originated from metal induced gap states (MIGS) in the band gap of octane. The intensity of the pre-peak for octane/Ni(1 1 1) was the same as that of octane/Cu(1 1 1), suggesting that there was little difference in the density of unoccupied MIGS between the octane film on Ni(1 1 1) and Cu(1 1 1). We discuss the metal dependence of the density of unoccupied MIGS on the band structure of the metals.