Theoretical study of NH3 adsorption on Fe(110) and Fe(111) surfaces

With the aim of understanding the nature of the interactions between organic molecules and metal surfaces, the adsorption of NH3 onto model Fe(110) and Fe(111) surfaces has been studied with use of the molecular orbital and density functional theories. B3LYP calculations have revealed that the on-top site is most suitable for adsorption of NH3 both on Fe(110) and on Fe(111). Mulliken population analysis in terms of the MO's of the two fragment systems suggested that electron delocalization from NH3 to the Fe surface should play a key role in the adsorption. Then, our transformation scheme of fragment orbitals has demonstrated that the electron delocalization is represented well only by a pair of interaction orbitals. The NH3 molecule provides the occupied interaction orbital bearing a close resemblance to the highest occupied (HO) MO, whereas the Fe surface prepares the paired unoccupied orbital that is localized at the adsorption site and overlaps in-phase with the orbital of NH3. Not only the lowest unoccupied (LU) MO but also other unoccupied MO's have been shown to participate significantly in the interaction. The reason the on-top site is the most preferable position for NH3 attack has been elucidated by investigating the interaction orbitals.     

Modification of the surface electronic and chemical properties of Pt(111) by subsurface 3d transition metals

The modification of the electronic and chemical properties of Pt(111) surfaces by subsurface 3d transition metals was studied using density-functional theory. In each case investigated, the Pt surface d-band was broadened and lowered in energy by interactions with the subsurface 3d metals, resulting in weaker dissociative adsorption energies of hydrogen and oxygen on these surfaces. The magnitude of the decrease in adsorption energy was largest for the early 3d transition metals and smallest for the late 3d transition metals. In some cases, dissociative adsorption was calculated to be endothermic. The surfaces investigated in this study had no lateral strain in them, demonstrating that strain is not a necessary factor in the modification of bimetallic surface properties. The implications of these findings are discussed in the context of catalyst design, particularly for fuel cell electrocatalysts.     

On the interaction of Mg with the (111) and (110) surfaces of ceria

The catalytic activity of cerium dioxide can be modified by deposition of alkaline earth oxide layers or nanoparticles or by substitutional doping of metal cations at the Ce site in ceria. In order to understand the effect of Mg oxide deposition and doping, a combination of experiment and first principles simulations is a powerful tool. In this paper, we examine the interaction of Mg with the ceria (111) surface using both angle resolved X-ray (ARXPS) and resonant (RPES) photoelectron spectroscopy measurements and density functional theory (DFT) corrected for on-site Coulomb interactions (DFT + U). With DFT + U, we also examine the interaction of Mg with the ceria (110) surface. The experiments show that upon deposition of Mg, Ce ions are reduced to Ce(3+), while Mg is oxidised. When Mg is incorporated into ceria, no reduced Ce(3+) ions are found and oxygen vacancies are present. The DFT + U simulations show that each Mg that is introduced leads to formation of two reduced Ce(3+) ions. When Mg is incorporated at a Ce site in the (111) surface, one oxygen vacancy is formed for each Mg to compensate the different valencies, so that all Ce ions are oxidised. The behaviour of Mg upon interaction with the (110) surface is the same as with the (111) surface. The combined results provide a basis for deeper insights into the catalytic behaviour of ceria-based mixed oxide catalysts.     

Infrared chemiluminescence study of CO2 formation in CO + NO reaction on Pd(110) and Pd(111) surfaces

Infrared (IR) chemiluminescence studies of CO2 formed during steady-state CO + NO reaction over Pd(110) and Pd(111) surfaces were carried out. Kinetics of the CO + NO reaction were studied over Pd(110) using a molecular-beam reaction system in the pressure range of 10-2-10-1 Torr. The activity of the CO + NO reaction on Pd(110) was much higher than that of Pd(111), which was quite different from the result of other experiments under a higher pressure range. On the basis of the experimental data on the dependence of the reaction rate on CO and NO pressures and the reaction rate constants obtained by using a reaction model, the coverage of NO, CO, N, and O was calculated under various flux conditions. From the analysis of IR emission spectra in the CO + O2 reaction on Pd(110) and Pd(111), the antisymmetric vibrational temperature (TVAS) was seen to be higher than the bending vibrational temperature (TVB) on Pd(110). In contrast, TVB was higher than TVAS on Pd(111). These behaviors suggest that the activated complex for CO2 formation is more bent on Pd(111) than that on Pd(110), which is reflected by the surface structure. Both TVB and TVAS for the CO + O2 reaction on Pd(110) and Pd(111) increased gradually with increasing surface temperature (TS). On the other hand, in the case of the CO + NO reaction on Pd(110) and Pd(111), TVAS decreased and TVB increased significantly with increasing TS. TVB was lower than TVAS at lower TS, while TVB was higher than TVAS at higher TS. Comparison of the data obtained for the two reactions indicates that TVB in the CO + NO reaction on Pd(110) at TS = 800 and 850 K is much higher than that in the CO + O2 reaction on Pd(110).     

Coordination compounds of some 3d metals with 3-methyl-1-phenyl-4-formylpyrazol-5-one

CuL₂ · 1.5H₂O and ML₂ · 2H₂O · 2EtOH (M = Co²⁺, Ni²⁺, Mn²⁺) coordination compounds were synthesized via the exchange reaction between the sodium salt of 3-methyl-1-phenyl-4-formylpyrazol-5-one (HL) and metal chlorides.The synthesized compounds were studied by thermogravimetry, magnetochemistry, and electron and IR spectroscopy. The complexes CuL₂ · 2Py and CoL₂ · 2Py · MeOH were obtained via recrystallization from a methanol-pyridine mixture, and their structures were studied by X-ray diffraction. Pyrazolone was found to be coordinated in the deprotonated enol form and to form six-membered chelate rings with a metal. The coordination polyhedron of a metal cation was found to be a square bipyramid (Cu²⁺) or an axially elongated octahedron (Co²⁺) with its vertices occupied by the oxygen atoms of 3-methyl-1-phenyl-4-formylpyrazol-5-one and the nitrogen atoms of pyridine.     

Coordination compounds of 3d metals malonates and glutarates with thiosemicarbazide

Complexes of copper(II), nickel(II), and cobalt(III) malonates and glutarates with thiosemicarbazide have been prepared and studied by means of elemental analysis, IR spectroscopy, diffuse reflection spectroscopy, and thermogravimetry.     

Probing enantioselectivity on chirally modified Cu(110), Cu(100), and Cu(111) surfaces

Temperature programmed desorption methods have been used to probe the enantioselectivity of achiral Cu(100), Cu(110), and Cu(111) single crystal surfaces modified by chiral organic molecules including amino acids, alcohols, alkoxides, and amino-alcohols. The following combinations of chiral probes and chiral modifiers on Cu surfaces were included in this study: propylene oxide (PO) on L-alanine modified Cu(110), PO on L-alaninol modified Cu(111), PO on 2-butanol modified Cu(111), PO on 2-butoxide modified Cu(100), PO on 2-butoxide modified Cu(111), R-3-methylcyclohexanone (R-3-MCHO) on 2-butoxide modified Cu(100), and R-3-MCHO on 2-butoxide modified Cu(111). In contrast with the fact that these and other chiral probe/modifier systems have exhibited enantioselectivity on Pd(111) and Pt(111) surfaces, none of these probe/modifier/Cu systems exhibit enantioselectivity at either low or high modifier coverages. The nature of the underlying substrate plays a significant role in the mechanism of hydrogen-bonding interactions and could be critical to observing enantioselectivity. While hydrogen-bonding interactions between modifier and probe molecule are believed to induce enantioselectivity on Pd surfaces (Gao, F.; Wang, Y.; Burkholder, L.; Tysoe, W. T. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2007, 129, 15240-15249), such critical interactions may be missing on Cu surfaces where hydrogen-bonding interactions are believed to occur between adjacent modifier molecules, enabling them to form clusters or islands.     

First-principles characterization of formate and carboxyl adsorption on stoichiometric CeO2(111) and CeO2(110) surfaces

Molecular adsorption of formate and carboxyl on stoichiometric CeO₂(111) and CeO₂(110) surfaces was studied using periodic density functional theory (DFT+U) calculations. Two distinguishable adsorption modes (strong and weak) of formate are identified. The bidentate configuration is more stable than the monodentate adsorption configuration. Both formate and carboxyl bind at the more open CeO₂(110) surface are stronger. The calculated vibrational frequencies of two adsorbed species are consistent with the experimental measurements. Finally, the effects of U parameters on the adsorption of formate and carboxyl over both CeO₂ surfaces were investigated. We found that the geometrical configurations of two adsorbed species are not affected by different U parameters (U = 0, 5, and 7). However, the calculated adsorption energy of carboxyl pronouncedly increases with the U value while the adsorption energy of formate only slightly changes (<0.2 eV). The Bader charge analysis shows the opposite charge transfer occurs for formate and carboxyl adsorption where the adsorbed formate is negatively charge while the adsorbed carboxyl is positively charged. Interestingly, with the increasing U parameter, the amount of charge is also increased.     

Thermodynamics and kinetics of oxygen-induced segregation of 3d metals in Pt-3d-Pt(111) and Pt-3d-Pt(100) bimetallic structures

The stability of subsurface 3d transition metals (3d represents Ni, Co, Fe, Mn, Cr, V, and Ti) in Pt(111) and Pt(100) was examined in vacuum and with 0.5 ML atomic oxygen by a combined experimental and density functional theory (DFT) approach. DFT was used to predict the trends in the binding energy of oxygen and in the stability of 3d metals to remain in the subsurface layer. DFT calculations predicted that for both (111) and (100) crystal planes the subsurface Pt-3d-Pt configurations were thermodynamically preferred in vacuum and that the surface 3d-Pt-Pt configurations were preferred with the adsorption of 0.5 ML atomic oxygen. Experimentally, the DFT predictions were verified by using Auger electron spectroscopy to monitor the segregation of Ni and Co in Pt-3d-Pt structures on polycrystalline Pt foil, composed of mainly (111) and (100) facets. The activation barrier for the oxygen-induced segregation of Ni was found to be 17+/-1 kcal/mol attributed to the Pt(111) areas and 27+/-1 kcal/mol attributed to the Pt(100) areas of the Pt foil. For Pt-Co-Pt, the activation barrier was found to be 10+/-1 kcal/mol and was attributed to the Pt(111) areas of the Pt foil. The Bronsted-Evans-Polanyi relationship was utilized to predict the activation barriers for segregation of the other Pt-3d-Pt(111) and Pt-3d-Pt(100) systems. These results are further discussed in connection to the activity and stability for cathode bimetallic electrocatalysts for proton exchange membrane fuel cells.     

Chiral recognition of PVBA on Pd(111) and Ag(111) surfaces

An asymmetric planar molecule, 4-trans-2-(pyrid-4-yl-vinyl) benzoic acid (PVBA), has been used to establish the organic chiral recognition on fcc(111) metal surfaces. The strong correlation between the orientation and chiral recognition of PVBA on both Ag(111) and Pd(111) guides the choice of a model potential, which determines the relative binding energy of PVBA on fcc(111). An angle-dependent calculation of relative binding energy reproduces the experimental observation of the chiral recognition of PVBA on Ag(111) but not on Pd(111).     

Missing row reconstructed (110), (211) and (311) surfaces for FCC transition metals

Modified embedded atom method (MEAM) has been used to ascertain the change in the surface energy density of (1 × 2) missing row (MR) reconstruction from initial (1 × 1) ideal (110), (211) and (311) surfaces for seven FCC transition metals Au, Pt, Ag, Pd, Rh, Cu and Ni. The results show that the MR reconstruction can be formed naturally on the Au (110), Pt (110) and Pt (311) surfaces and are better than calculated results of the embedded atom method (EAM) while comparing with experimental results. In addition to the surface energy explanation, the results are also explained in terms of the valence electron structure and surface topography. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Electrochemistry of platinum single crystal surfaces: Part II. Structural effect on formic acid oxidation and poison formation on Pt (111), (100) and (110)

The geometrical arrangement of sites favourable for formic acid oxidation and the poison formation reaction is determined using low index platinum single crystal planes. For this determination, the least number of sites required for the reactions to occur, which was obtained in the study of electrocatalysis by adatoms, was used, that is three adjacent sites are required for formic acid oxidation and four adjacent sites are required for poison formation.The triplet of sites on a unit lattice of Pt (111) and that on a unit lattice of Pt (100) plane are equally very favourable for the main oxidation reaction, but that on a unit lattice of Pt (110) is not so favourable as those on the former two planes. The oxidation rate is more than one order of magnitude lower on the latter than on the former triplets.The poison formation reaction proceeds at a very high rate on the (100) and the (110) planes. The geometrical arrangement of four sites on a square unit lattice of the (100) plane and on a rectangular unit lattice of the (110) plane are favourable for the poison formation reaction, but that on a hexagonal unit lattice of the (111) plane is not so favourable as the former two.     

Electrochemistry of iridium single crystal surfaces: Part I. Structural effect on formic acid oxidation and poison formation on Ir (111), (100) and (110)

The geometrical arrangement of Ir sites favourable for the main oxidation reaction and the poison formation reaction in formic acid oxidation is determined on Ir (111), (100) and (110). The order of catalytic activity is (111) > (100) > (100) for the main oxidation and that for the poison formation is (111) < (110) < (100). This order is different from that on Pt single crystal planes, the order of which is (111) > (100) > (110) for the main oxidation and (111) < (100) < (110) for poison formation. Since the order is different on Pt and Ir, the chemical property determines the order. On both Ir and Pt, poison formation occurs independently of the existence of adsorbed hydrogen.     

Zirconocene interaction with MAO on (111) and (100) silica surfaces

This work examines a polymerisation catalyst based on zirconocene with methylaluminoxane (MAO) as a cocatalyst on silica surfaces. Calculations were carried out using the Atom Superposition and Electron Delocalisation method (ASED‐MO) considering the (111) and (100) silica planes, both completely and partially hydrated. Our results suggest the production of a cationic zirconocene as a final step for the active site formation for (111) silica plane, occurring preferentially on partially hydrated silica. On the contrary this may not be possible for the (100) plane, resulting in this case in the formation of a MAO‐zirconocene complex as a final and most stable state.     

氢原子在Ni(100), Ni(111)和Ni(110)面上吸附扩散势能面的结构

本文构造了氢-镍相互作用的5参数Morse势, 用经典的对势方法研究氢原子在Ni(100), Ni(111)和Ni(110)面上的吸附和扩散, 得到氢原子在三个表面上的吸附位、吸附几何、结合能及本征振动等数据, 和实验结果符合得很好。同时, 系统地研究了三个体系的吸附扩散势能面结构。     

Chiral structures of 6,12-dibromochrysene on Au(111) and Cu(111) surfaces

Nanoscale low-dimensional chiral architectures are increasingly receiving scientific interest, because of their potential applications in many fields such as chiral recognition, separation and transformation. Using 6,12-dibromochrysene (DBCh), we successfully constructed and characterized the large-area two-dimensional chiral networks on Au(111) and one-dimensional metal-liganded chiral chains on Cu(111) respectively. The reasons and processes of chiral transformation of chiral networks on Au(111) were analyzed. We used scanning tunneling spectroscopy (STS) to analyze the electronic state information of this chiral structure. This work combines scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) with non-contact atomic force microscopy (nc-AFM) techniques to achieve ultra-high-resolution characterization of chiral structures on low-dimensional surfaces, which may be applied to the bond analysis of functional nanofilms. Density functional theory (DFT) was used to simulate the adsorption behavior of the molecular and energy analysis in order to verify the experimental results.     

Near-UV photodissociation of oriented CH3I adsorbed on Cu(110)-I

Methyl iodide adsorbed on a Cu(110)-I surface has been found to be highly orientationally ordered. We have exploited this orientation to select different CH(3)I excited states for photodissociation by using polarized near-UV light at wavelengths of 308, 248, and 222 nm. Using p-polarized light at all three wavelengths, we find that dissociation proceeds largely via the (3)Q(0) state, consistent with the picture from gas-phase photolysis. In contrast, using s-polarized light we find contributions from the (3)Q(1) state at lambda=308 nm, the (1)Q(1) state at lambda=248 nm, and the (E,1) state at lambda=222 nm-the latter being a state that has not been implicated in gas-phase studies of CH(3)I A-band photolysis. We also note the contribution to surface photodissociation from low-energy photoelectrons causing dissociative electron attachment to adsorbed CH(3)I and have identified the promotion of direct photodissociation pathways during lambda=308 nm photolysis.     

Complex formation of uranium(VI) with 4-hydroxy-3-methoxybenzoic acid and related compounds

Summary The complex formation of uranium(VI) with 4-hydroxy-3-methoxybenzoic acid as well as with benzoic acid and 4-hydroxybenzoic acid was studied. In aqueous solution weak carboxylic 1 : 1 complexes, are formed in which the carboxyl group is bidentately coordinated to the metal atom. The logarithmic stability constants of these complexes regarding the reaction of the uranyl ion with the single charged anion of the respective ligands are 2.78±0.02, 2.68±0.04, and 2.71±0.04 at an ionic strength of 0.1 mol/l (NaClO₄) and at 25 °C. Bis(4-hydroxy-3-methoxybenzoato)dioxouranium(VI) was obtained as a crystalline compound if the concentrations of the starting components for the synthesis are increased. The monoclinic compound has a reflections-rich X-ray powder diffraction pattern. The lattice constants are a = 13.662(9) ?, b = 21.293(7) ?, c = 11.213(3) ?, b = 107.49(4), and V = 3111(2) ?.³     

CO2在Fe3O4(111)表面的吸附结构及能量研究

利用密度泛函理论研究了CO₂在Fe₃O₄（111）表面Fe_tet1和Fe_oct2两种终结的吸附行为。在Fe_tet1终结表面,当覆盖度为1/5 ML时,CO₂倾向于线性吸附;而在高覆盖度下,弯曲的CO₂与表面O作用形成CO₃^2-结构。在Fe_oct2终结表面,CO₂倾向于弯曲吸附,在1/6 ML和1/3 ML覆盖度时都可以形成CO₃^2-和-COO结构。覆盖度对Fe_tet1终结的表面影响很弱,但是对Fe_oct2终结的表面影响很大。从热力学上来说,CO₂在Fe_oct2终结表面的吸附要比Fe_tet1终结表面更有利。