Unusual process of water formation on RuO2(110) by hydrogen exposure at room temperature

The reduction mechanism of the RuO(2)(110) surface by molecular hydrogen exposure is unraveled to an unprecedented level by a combination of temperature programmed reaction, scanning tunneling microscopy, high-resolution core level shift spectroscopy, and density functional theory calculations. We demonstrate that even at room temperature hydrogen exposure to the RuO(2)(110) surface leads to the formation of water. In a two-step process, hydrogen saturates first the bridging oxygen atoms to form (O(br)-H) species and subsequently part of these O(br)-H groups move to the undercoordinated Ru atoms where they form adsorbed water. This latter process is driven by thermodynamics leaving vacancies in the bridging O rows.     

Dynamic response of chlorine atoms on a RuO(2)(110) model catalyst surface

The dynamic behavior of surface accommodated chlorine atoms on RuO(2)(110) was studied by a variety of experimental methods including high resolution core level shift, thermal desorption-, and in situ infrared spectroscopy as well as in situ surface X-ray diffraction in combination with state-of-the-art density functional theory calculations. On the chlorinated RuO(2)(110) surface the undercoordinated oxygen atoms have been selectively replaced by chlorine. These strongly bound surface chlorine atoms shift from bridging to on-top sites when the sample is annealed in oxygen, while the reverse shift of Cl from on-top into bridge positions is observed during CO exposure; the vacant bridge position is then occupied by either chlorine or CO. For the CO oxidation reaction over chlorinated RuO(2)(110), the reactant induced site switching of chlorine causes a site-blocking of the catalytically active one-fold coordinatively unsaturated (1f-cus) Ru sites. This site blocking reduces the number of active sites and, even more important, on-top Cl blocks the free migration of the adsorbed reactants along the one-dimensional 1f-cus Ru rows, thus leading to a loss of catalytic activity.     

The role of weakly bound on-top oxygen in the catalytic CO oxidation reaction over RuO2(110)

RuO(2)-based catalysts are much more active in the oxidation of CO than related metallic Ru catalysts. This high catalytic activity (or low activation barrier) is attributed to the weak oxygen surface bonding of bridging O atoms on RuO(2)(110) in comparison with the strongly chemisorbed oxygen on Ru(0001). Since the RuO(2)(110) surface is able to stabilize an even more weakly bound on-top oxygen species, one would anticipate that the catalytic activity will increase further under oxidizing conditions. We will show that this view is far too simple to explain our temperature-programmed reaction experiments, employing isotope labeling of the potentially active surface oxygen species on RuO(2)(110). Rather, both surface O species on RuO(2)(110) reveal similar activities in oxidizing CO.     

Hydrogen transfer reaction on the surface of an oxide catalyst

RuO2(110) exposes two kinds of active surface species (acidic and basic centers) that govern the interaction of the gas phase in contact with the catalyst's surface. Here we will elucidate the cooperative interplay of these two active surface sites for a simple model reaction, namely the water formation over RuO2 catalysts when supplying hydrogen and oxygen from the gas phase. The bridging O atoms harvest the hydrogen from the gas phase, while the on-top O atoms pick up those adsorbed hydrogen atoms from the bridging O atoms to form water. This mechanism of hydrogen transfer is mediated by a strong hydrogen bond. Hydrogen transfer is expected to play a vital role for the whole class of catalyzed hydrogenation and dehydrogenation reactions of hydrocarbons over RuO2.     

Inhibition of CO oxidation on RuO2(110) by adsorbed H2O molecules

Catalytic CO oxidation on the RuO(2)(110) surface was studied at 300 K by scanning tunneling microscopy (STM), high-resolution electron-energy-loss spectroscopy (HREELS), and thermal desorption spectroscopy (TDS). Upon repeatedly exposing the surface to several 10 L of CO and O(2) at 300 K, STM shows that unreactive features accumulate with each CO and O(2) titration run. HREELS and TDS show formation of increasing amounts of H(2)O, retarded formation of O-cus atoms and incomplete removal of CO-bridge molecules during O(2) dosing, and a changing ratio of single- and double-bonded CO-bridge molecules. It is concluded that H(2)O (presumably from the residual gas) is accumulating at the Ru-cus sites thus blocking them, so that the dissociative adsorption of oxygen is prevented and the CO oxidation reaction is suppressed. Some 10% CO- bridge remains on the surface even during oxygen exposure. Consistent with this interpretation, deactivation of the surface is suppressed at 350 K, at the onset of H(2)O desorption.     

Adsorption and interaction of ethylene on RuO2(110) surfaces

Ethylene (C2H4) adsorbed on the stoichiometric and oxygen-rich RuO2(110) surfaces, exposing coordinatively unsaturated Ru-cus and O-cus atoms, is investigated by applying high-resolution electron energy-loss spectroscopy and thermal desorption spectroscopy in combination with isotope labeling experiments. On the stoichiometric RuO2(110) surface C2H4 adsorbs and desorbs molecularly. In contrast, on the oxygen-rich RuO2(110) surface ethylene adsorbs molecularly at 85 K and is completely oxidized through interaction with O-cus and O-bridge upon annealing to 500 K. The first couple of reactions are observed at 200 K taking place on Ru-cus: A change from pi- to sigma-bonding, formation of -C=O and -C-O groups, and dehydrogenation giving rise to H2O adsorbed at Ru-cus. Maximum reaction rate is reached for C2H4 chemisorbed at Ru-cus with O-cus neighbors on each side. A model for the first couple of reactions is sketched. For the final combustion, C2H4 reacts both with O-cus and O-bridge. Ethylene oxide is not detected under any circumstance.     

Heterogeneous catalysis on the atomic scale

Information about the elementary processes underlying heterogeneous catalysis may be obtained by investigating well-defined single crystal surfaces. The success of this "surface science" approach for "'real" catalysis can be demonstrated, for example, with ammonia synthesis. The progress of catalytic reactions can be observed on an atomic scale by applying scanning tunneling microscopy and other surface physical techniques, as is shown with different examples in this paper: CO oxidation on a Pt(111) surface proceeds preferentially along the boundaries between adsorbed O and CO patches. Ru is practically inactive for the same reaction under lower pressure conditions but is transformed into RuO2 under atmospheric pressure conditions, where part of the surface Ru atoms function as coordinatively unsaturated sites (cus). In contrast, in the hydrogen oxidation reaction on Pt(111), an autocatalytic reaction step comes into prominence, and is responsible for the formation of propagating concentration patterns on the surface as a characteristic of nonlinear dynamics. Additionally, the limits of the concept of thermal equilibrium in surface rate processes are explored by applying ultrafast (femtosecond) laser techniques.     

Theoretical study of CO and H2O interaction on (110) and (101) Zirconia surfaces

Theoretical calculations of CO and H₂O adsorption on (110) and (101) tetragonal Zirconia surfaces were carried out using ONIOM2 methodology. The calculations showed that the adsorption processes are exothermic reactions with energy values of −28.4 kcal/mol for H₂O on the (110) surface, −51.0 kcal/mol for H₂O on the (101) surface, −21.7 kcal/mol for CO on (110) surface and −23.4 kcal/mol for CO on (101) surface. Analysis of the results suggest that different kinds of basic sites can be found on the (110) and (101) surfaces. In both (110) and (101) surfaces, CO adsorption is on bridged (bonded to two Zr atoms on the (110) surface, bonded to one Zr and O atoms on the (101) surface). The calculations showed that ONIOM can be a powerful tool to study structural and thermodynamics properties of solid surfaces.     

Reactions of carbon monoxide with free palladium oxide clusters: strongly size dependent competition between adsorption and combustion

The gas phase reactions of carbon monoxide with small mass-selected clusters of palladium, Pd(x)(+) (x = 2-7), and their oxides, Pd(x)O(+) (x = 2-7) and Pd(x)O(2)(+) (x = 4-6), have been investigated in a radio frequency ion trap operated under multi-collision conditions. The bare palladium clusters were found to readily adsorb CO yielding a highly size dependent product pattern. Most interestingly, the reactions of the pre-oxidized palladium clusters with CO lead to very similar product distributions of Pd(x)(CO)(z)(+) complexes as in the case of the corresponding pure Pd(x)(+) clusters. Consequently, it has been concluded that the investigated palladium oxide clusters efficiently oxidize CO under formation of the bare clusters, which further adsorb CO molecules yielding the previously observed Pd(x)(CO)(z)(+) product complex distributions. This CO combustion reaction has been observed even at temperatures as low as 100 K. However, for Pd(2)O(+), Pd(6)O(+), Pd(6)O(2)(+), and Pd(7)O(+) a competing reaction channel yielding palladium oxide carbonyls Pd(x)O(CO)(z)(+) could be detected. The latter adsorption reaction may even hamper the CO combustion under certain reaction conditions and indicates enhanced activation barriers involved in the CO oxidation and/or the CO(2) elimination process on these clusters.     

Self-activation of catalyst and functionalization of metal surfaces

Why can solid surfaces promote a variety of chemical reactions? We supposed that active sites or active compounds are formed over the catalyst surface during catalysis or in pretreatment. Three topics are discussed from this viewpoint in this review. The first topic is an activation of inactive MoO_x film to super-active olefin metathesis catalyst, where Mo=CHR sites are prepared on MoO_x. A total mechanism for the productive and the cross metathesis of propene was firstly established on an activated catalyst by using deuterium labeled olefins. In the second topic, a new concept of quasi-compounds is discussed by using scanning tunneling microscopy (STM), and it is shown that the reaction of quasi-compounds yields (Cu)₆ cluster and (–Cu–O–) strings on Ag(110). In the third topic, a self-activation of Pt–Rh alloy and Pt/Rh bimetallic surfaces during the reaction of NO + H₂ is discussed by using single crystal surfaces. STM image showed that a Pt–Rh(100) surface is activated by reacting with oxygen where a specific array of Pt and Rh atoms is established. Formation of similar active sites on the other crystallographic surfaces is responsible for structure insensitive catalysis of Pt/Rh bimetallic surfaces.     

CeO2(110)表面上CO氧化反应的密度泛函理论研究

利用密度泛函理论系统研究了O2与CO在CeO2(110)表面的吸附反应行为. 研究表明, O2在洁净的CeO2(110)表面吸附热力学不利, 而在氧空位表面为强化学吸附, O2分子被活化, 可能是重要的氧化反应物种. CO在洁净的CeO2(110)表面有化学吸附与物理吸附两种构型, 前者形成二齿碳酸盐物种, 后者与表面仅存在弱的相互作用. 在氧空位表面, CO可分子吸附或形成碳酸盐物种, 相应吸附能均较低. 当表面氧空位吸附O2后(O2/Ov), CO可吸附生成碳酸盐或直接生成CO2, 与原位红外光谱结果相一致. 过渡态计算发现,O2/Ov/CeO2(110)表面的三齿碳酸盐物种经两齿、单齿过渡态脱附生成CO2. 利用扩展休克尔分子轨道理论分析了典型吸附构型的电子结构, 说明表面碳酸盐物种三个氧原子电子存在离域作用, 物理吸附的CO及生成的CO2电子结构与相应自由分子相似.     

Reactivity of oxide precursor states on Ru(0001)

Smooth and defect-rich Ru(0001) surfaces prepared under ultrahigh-vacuum (UHV) conditions have been loaded with oxygen under high-pressure (p 相似文献   

Interaction of hydrogen with RuO2(110) surfaces: activity differences between various oxygen species

The interaction of hydrogen with RuO(2)(110) surfaces was studied by means of thermal desorption and vibration spectroscopies. The stoichiometric surface exposes two types of coordinatively unsaturated atoms: double-bonded O-bridge and five-fold-bonded Ru-cus, while at the O-rich surface the Ru-cus atoms are covered with single-bonded O-cus. On the stoichiometric RuO(2)(110) surface at 90 K, H(2) either adsorbs molecularly on Ru-cus sites or dissociates and forms with O-bridge an H(2)O-like surface group. If, in addition, also O-cus is present at the surface, hydrogen interacts exclusively with this species forming H(2)O-cus. This demonstrates that hydrogen reacts much more readily with O-cus than with O-bridge as expected from the reduced bond order and smaller binding energy of O-cus. It is furthermore shown that at surface temperatures below 90 K free coordinatively unsaturated Ru-cus sites are needed to activate the incoming H(2) molecules prior to any reaction with O-cus or O-bridge. Generally, Ru-cus sites play a key role for reactions of a number of molecules at the RuO(2)(110) surface. These findings are supported by recent DFT-based calculations but are at variance with other reports.     

Ru(0001) model catalyst under oxidizing and reducing reaction conditions: in-situ high-pressure surface X-ray diffraction study

With surface X-ray diffraction (SXRD) using a high-pressure reaction chamber we investigated in-situ the oxidation of the Ru(0001) model catalyst under various reaction conditions, starting from a strongly oxidizing environment to reaction conditions typical for CO oxidation. With a mixture of O(2) and CO (stoichiometry, 2:1) the partial pressure of oxygen has to be increased to 20 mbar to form the catalytically active RuO(2)(110) oxide film, while in pure oxygen environment a pressure of 10(-5) mbar is already sufficient to oxidize the Ru(0001) surface. For preparation temperatures in the range of 550-630 K a self-limiting RuO(2)(110) film is produced with a thickness of 1.6 nm. The RuO(2)(110) film grows self-acceleratedly after an induction period. The RuO(2) films on Ru(0001) can readily be reduced by H(2) and CO exposures at 415 K, without an induction period.     

Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopic evidence of methanol oxidation on ruthenium electrodes

Electrooxidation of methanol on Ru surfaces was investigated using in situ surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy. Although the cyclic voltammogram did not show a significant methanol oxidation current on Ru, a Raman band at approximately 1970-1992 cm(-1) was observed from 0.4 to 0.8 V in 0.1 M HClO(4) + 1 M methanol. By comparing with the C-O stretching band (nu(CO)) of carbon monoxide (CO) adsorbed on RuO(2)(110) in the ultrahigh vacuum and on oxidized Ru electrodes, the observed spectral feature is assigned to nu(CO) of adsorbed CO (CO(ads)) on RuO(2). The formation of CO(ads) suggests that methanol oxidation does occur on Ru at room temperature, which is in contrast to the perception that Ru is not active for the reaction. The lack of significant methanol oxidation current is attributed to the competing rapid surface oxidation, which forms inactive surface oxides and therefore inhibits the methanol oxidation.     

Formic acid self-poisoning on bismuth-modified Pt(755) and Pt(775) electrodes

This paper reports the effect of bismuth on the formation of CO from formic acid on platinum stepped surfaces containing six atoms wide (111) terraces and monoatomic steps having (110) or (100) symmetry. In both cases the steps were elaborated by irreversibly adsorbed bismuth in such a way that CO should be produced on the remaining terrace sites. It was found that bismuth decoration of (100) steps causes a large decrease in CO formation, whereas the effect of the same adatom when adsorbed on (110) steps is almost negligible. In this latter case it is necessary to adsorb bismuth on the terrace sites in order to obtain a similar inhibition of the poisoning reaction.     

Hydrogenation of CO on a silica surface: an embedded cluster approach

The sequential addition of H atoms to CO adsorbed on a siliceous edingtonite surface is studied with an embedded cluster approach, using density functional theory for the quantum mechanical (QM) cluster and a molecular force field for the molecular mechanical (MM) cluster. With this setup, calculated QM/MM adsorption energies are in agreement with previous calculations employing periodic boundary conditions. The catalytic effect of the siliceous edingtonite (100) surface on CO hydrogenation is assessed because of its relevance to astrochemistry. While adsorption of CO on a silanol group on the hydroxylated surface did not reduce the activation energy for the reaction with a H atom, a negatively charged defect on the surface is found to reduce the gas phase barriers for the hydrogenation of both CO and H2C=O. The embedded cluster approach is shown to be a useful and flexible tool for studying reactions on (semi-)ionic surfaces and specific defects thereon. The methodology presented here could easily be applied to study reactions on silica surfaces that are of relevance to other scientific areas, such as biotoxicity of silica dust and geochemistry.     

Catalytic oxidation of ammonia on RuO2(110) surfaces: mechanism and selectivity

The selective oxidation of ammonia to either N2 or NO on RuO2(110) single-crystal surfaces was investigated by a combination of vibrational spectroscopy (HREELS), thermal desorption spectroscopy (TDS) and steady-state rate measurements under continuous flow conditions. The stoichiometric RuO2(110) surface exposes coordinatively unsaturated (cus) Ru atoms onto which adsorption of NH3 (NH3-cus) or dissociative adsorption of oxygen (O-cus) may occur. In the absence of O-cus, ammonia desorbs completely thermally without any reaction. However, interaction between NH3-cus and O-cus starts already at 90 K by hydrogen abstraction and hydrogenation to OH-cus, leading eventually to N-cus and H2O. The N-cus species recombine either with each other to N2 or with neighboring O-cus leading to strongly held NO-cus which desorbs around 500 K. The latter reaction is favored by higher concentrations of O-cus. Under steady-state flow condition with constant NH3 partial pressure and varying O2 pressure, the rate for N2 formation takes off first, passes through a maximum and then decreases again, whereas that for NO production exhibits an S-shape and rises continuously. In this way at 530 K almost 100% selectivity for NO formation (with fairly high reaction probability for NH3) is reached.     

Mechanism of CO oxidation reaction on O-covered Pd(111) surfaces studied with fast x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy: change of reaction path accompanying phase transition of O domains

We studied the mechanism of CO oxidation on O-precovered Pd(111) surfaces by means of fast x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The oxygen overlayer is compressed upon CO coadsorption from a p(2 x 2) structure into a (square root(3) x square root(3))R30 degrees structure and then into a p(2 x 1) structure with increasing CO coverage. These three O phases exhibit distinctly different reactivities. (1) The p(2 x 2) phase does not react with CO unless the surface temperature is sufficiently high (<290 K). (2) In the square root(3) x square root(3))R30 degrees phase, the reaction occurs exclusively at island peripheries. CO molecules in a high-density phase formed under CO exposure react with oxygen atoms, leading to quite a small apparent activation energy. (3) The reaction proceeds uniformly over the islands in the p(2 x 1) phase.     

Structures and properties of zirconia-supported ruthenium oxide catalysts for the selective oxidation of methanol to methyl formate

The effects of RuO(x) structure on the selective oxidation of methanol to methyl formate (MF) at low temperatures were examined on ZrO(2)-supported RuO(x) catalysts with a range of Ru surface densities (0.2-3.8 Ru/nm(2)). Their structure was characterized using complementary methods (X-ray diffraction, Raman and X-ray photoelectron spectra, and reduction dynamics). The structure and reactivity of RuO(x) species change markedly with Ru surface density. RuO(x) existed preferentially as RuO(4)(2-) species below 0.4 Ru/nm(2), probably as isolated Zr(RuO(4))(2) interacting with ZrO(2) surfaces. At higher surface densities, highly dispersed RuO(2) domains coexisted with RuO(4)(2-) and ultimately formed small clusters and became the prevalent form of RuO(x) above 1.9 Ru/nm(2). CH(3)OH oxidation rates per Ru atom and per exposed Ru atom (turnover rates) decreased with increasing Ru surface density. This behavior reflects a decrease in intrinsic reactivity as RuO(x) evolved from RuO(4)(2-) to RuO(2), a conclusion confirmed by transient anaerobic reactions of CH(3)OH and by an excellent correlation between reaction rates and the number of RuO(4)(2-) species in RuO(x)/ZrO(2) catalysts. The high intrinsic reactivity of RuO(4)(2-) structures reflects their higher reducibility, which favors the reduction process required for the kinetically relevant C-H bond activation step in redox cycles using lattice oxygen atoms involved in CH(3)OH oxidation catalysis. These more reactive RuO(4)(2-) species and the more exposed ZrO(2) surfaces on samples with low Ru surface density led to high MF selectivities (e.g. approximately 96% at 0.2 Ru/nm(2)). These findings provide guidance for the design of more effective catalysts for the oxidation of alkanes, alkenes, and alcohols by the synthesis of denser Zr(RuO(4))(2) monolayers on ZrO(2) and other high surface area supports.