Oxygen adsorption on (110) silver

The adsorption of oxygen on a (110)Ag surface is investigated by means of Auger electron spectroscopy, LEED and low energy helium ion scattering (IS). With LEED two ordered structures, i.e. (3×1) and (2×1) were observed at oxygen exposures of 1700 L and 7000 L respectively. The oxygen signal observed by AES and IS increases monotonically with oxygen exposure. The signals can be related to absolute coverage by comparison with Δφ measurements and by the use of the LEED data. With this calibration and with theoretical scattering cross-sections the IS measurements allow the position of the adsorbed oxygen to be estimated. The observation of a strong azimuthal anisotropy of the IS signal, e.g. a large oxygen signal if the plane of scattering is parallel to the [110] direction and a relatively small oxygen signal in the [100] direction, leads to the conclusion that the oxygen is adsorbed in a bridge position between two Ag atoms of the [110] surface channels, its centre being slightly below the centres of the Ag atoms.     

The mechanism of acetate oxidation on Ag(110)

The effects of coadsorbed oxygen atoms and gaseous O₂ at pressures up to 0.7 Torr on the stability of the surface acetate intermediate on Ag(110) were investigated. Under an O₂ pressure of 0.7 Torr acetate decomposes at temperatures as low as 400 K, which is 200 K lower than the decomposition temperature of acetate in vacuum. This destabilization is due to population of the surface with atomic oxygen when 0.7 Torr O₂ is present. Acetate reacts with coadsorbed oxygen atoms via an intermediate which decomposes at 340 K to CO₂, water and formate. The formate subsequently decomposes at 400 K to give CO₂ and H₂. Through the use of isotopic labelling, it was found that the carbon and hydrogen atoms in the formate originate from the methyl group of the acetate, while the two oxygen atoms come from surface atomic oxygen. A mechanism for the reaction of acetate with atomic oxygen is presented in which a surface oxygen atom abstracts a proton from the acetate, and the resulting CH₂COO_(a) species reacts further with another oxygen atom to form a glycolate (O₂CCH₂O_(a)) intermediate. Nucleophilic attack at the methylene carbon by an oxygen atom, followed by C-C bond scission releases CO₂ and forms H₂CO_2(a), which subsequently loses a hydrogen atom to make formate. The results presented here show that acetate will decompose under commercial ethylene oxidation conditions, and thus cannot be ruled out as an intermediate in the total oxidation of ethylene. Isomerization of ethylene oxide to acetaldehyde, followed by oxidation of the acetaldehyde is a plausible route to acetate formation during ethylene oxidation. In addition, this work demonstrates that phenomena which occur at high pressures can be observed in ultra high vacuum provided the relevant surface species can be formed in vacuum and remain on the surface up to the temperatures at which the high pressure phenomena occur.     

The oxidation of the GaAs (110) surface

It is demonstrated that, contrary to previous proposals, Ga surface atoms are already involved in the oxidation process for the lowest observable oxygen coverages (0.01 monolayer). A similar involvement of As atoms could not be readily ascertained experimentally, although it is to be expected from energetic considerations. An oxidation model consisting of multiple bridge bonds to both Ga and As surface atoms is proposed, which is consistent with diverse experimental data for the GaAs(110) surface.     

Chemisorption of oxygen on the silver (110) surface

In the present work the interaction between oxygen and the silver (110) surface is investigated, mainly using LEED-Auger techniques and thermal desorption spectra. The formation and stability of adsorption layers is studied after exposures at pressures from 10^?3 to 1 torr. At maximum coverage, a (2 × 1) superstructure is formed which is stable up to the desorption temperature. At lower coverage, (3 × 1) and (4 × 1) superstructures are also observed. On the basis of the experimental evidence, tentative models for these structures are presented and discussed.     

The influence of oxygen on the growth of silver on Cu(110)

The influence of the (2 × 1)O reconstruction on the growth of Ag on a Cu(110) surface was studied by scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and Auger electron spectroscopy (AES). On the bare Cu(110) surface, Stranski–Krastanov growth of silver is observed at sample temperatures between 277 K and 500 K: The formation of a Ag wetting layer is followed by the growth of three-dimensional Ag wires. In contrast, on the oxygen-precovered Cu(110) surface, the growth of silver depends heavily on the substrate temperature. Upon Ag deposition at room temperature, a homogeneous, polycrystalline Ag layer is observed, whereas at 500 K, three-dimensional wires separated by (2 × 1)O reconstructed areas are formed. The behavior of a deposited Ag layer upon annealing is also influenced greatly by the presence of oxygen. On the bare surface, annealing does not change the Ag wetting layer and gives rise to Ostwald ripening of the Ag wires. On the oxygen-precovered surface, however, the initial polycrystalline Aglayer first transforms into Ag wires at around 500 K. Above this temperature, the depletion of the (2 × 1)O reconstructed areas due to Ag-induced O desorption is balanced by the formation of a Ag wetting layer. On both, the bare and the oxygen-precovered Cu(110) surface, the deposited silver diffuses into the Cu bulk at temperatures above 700 K.     

A microkinetic model of the methanol oxidation over silver

A simple microkinetic model for the oxidation of methanol on silver based on surface science studies at UHV and low temperatures has been formulated. The reaction mechanism is a simple Langmuir-Hinshelwood mechanism, with one type of active oxygen and one route to formaldehyde and carbon dioxide, respectively. The model explains observed reaction orders, selectivity, apparent activation enthalpies and the choice of industrial reaction conditions. More interesting the model disproves the notion that the mechanism deduced from surface science in UHV cannot be responsible for formaldehyde synthesis at industrial steady-state conditions. The present work therefore seriously questions the prevailing models of formaldehyde synthesis in the literature. One of the reasons for this controversy is that many of the models in the literature are derived from transient experiments exhibiting dynamic effects that are not present at steady state under industrial conditions.     

The oxidation of H2CO on a copper(110) surface

The oxidation of H₂C¹⁶O by adsorbed ¹⁸O was studied on an Cu(110) sample by temperature programmed reaction spectroscopy. Formaldehyde exchanged its oxygen with surface ¹⁸O upon adsorption to yield H₂C¹⁸O_(a) and ¹⁶O_(a). Formaldehyde was also oxidized by surface ¹⁶O and ¹⁸O atoms to H₂COO which subsequently released one of the hydrogen atoms to form HCOO. The evolution of H₂ from the Cu(110) surface was desorption limited, and the low pre-exponential factor for the recombination of the surface hydrogen atoms suggested stringent requirement on the trajectories of the colliding partners. The formate was very stable and dissociated at elevated temperatures to simultaneously yield H₂ and CO₂. The surface concentration of ¹⁸O exerted a pronounced affect on the activity of the oxidation of formaldehyde on Cu(110).     

Formaldehyde decomposition and oxidation on Pt(110)

The decomposition reactions of formaldehyde on clean and oxygen dosed Pt(110) have been studied by LEED, XPS and TPRS. Formaldehyde is adsorbed in two states, a monolayer phase and a multilayer phase which were distinguishable by both TPRS and XPS. The saturated monolayer (corresponding to 8.06 × 10¹⁴ molecules cm⁻²) desorbed at 134 K and the multilayer phase (which could not be saturated) desorbed at 112 K. The only other reaction products observed at higher temperatures were CO and H₂ produced in desorption limited processes and these reached a maximum upon saturation of the formaldehyde monolayer. The desorption spectrum of hydrogen was found to be perturbed by the presence of CO as reported by Weinberg and coworkers. It is proposed that local lifting of the clean surface (1 × 2) reconstruction is responsible for this behaviour. Analysis of the TPRS and XPS peak areas demonstrated that on the clean surface approximately 50% of the adsorbed monolayer dissociated with the remainder desorbing intact. Reaction of formaldehyde with preadsorbed oxygen resulted in the formation of H₂O (hydroxyl recombination) and CO₂ (decomposition of formate) desorbing at 200 and 262 K, respectively. The CO and H₂ desorption peaks were both smaller relative to formaldehyde decomposition on the clean surface and in particular, H₂ desorbed in a reaction limited process associated with decomposition of the formate species. No evidence was found for methane or hydrocarbon evolution in the present study under any circumstances. The results of this investigation are discussed in the light of our earlier work on the decomposition of methanol on the same platinum surface.     

The oxidation of dodecane on a vanadium-molybdenum catalyst

The catalytic oxidation of dodecane by air oxygen on a mixed vanadium-molybdenum oxide (V₂O₅ · MoO₃, 40 mol % MoO₃) was studied over the temperature range 300–350°C. The reaction at 300–330°C occurred on oxygen vacancies with the rupture of C-H bonds and formation of α-acid. Oxidation above 350°C occurred with the splitting of the C-C bond and formation of two and more acids. Singlet oxygen ¹O₂ generated in the oxidation of oxide catalyst lattice oxygen participated in the reaction. A possible mechanism of the process was considered.     

Characterization of the adsorption and decomposition of methanol on Ni(110)

The chemisorption, condensation, desorption, and decomposition of methanol, both CH₃OH and CH₃OD, on a clean Ni(110) surface have been characterized using high resolution electron energy loss spectroscopy, temperature programmed reaction spectroscopy, and low energy electron diffraction. The vibrational spectrum of the saturated chemisorbed layer, 7.4 × 10¹⁴ molecules cm^?2, is almost identical to the infrared spectrum of liquid or solid methanol. Condensation of multilayers of methanol is facile at 80 K. The only quasi-stable intermediate isolated during the decomposition is a methoxy species, CH₃O, which decomposes thermally to CO and H. The evolution of both CO and H₂ occurs in desorption limited processes.     

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.     

The ferromagnetic monolayer Fe(110) on W(110)

Ferromagnetic order in the pseudomorphic monolayer Fe(110) on W(110) was analyzed experimentally using Conversion Electron Mössbauer Spectroscopy (CEMS) and Torsion Oscillation Magnetometry (TOM). The monolayer is thermodynamically stable, crystallizes to large monolayer patches at elevated temperatures and therefore forms an excellent approximation to the ideal monolayer structure. It is ferromagnetic below a Curie-temperatureT _c,mono, which is given by (282±3) K for the Ag-coated layer, (290±10) K for coating by Cu, Ag or Au and ≈210 K for the free monolayer. For the Ag-coated monolayer, ground state hyperfine fieldB _hf (0)=(11.9±0.3) T and magnetic moment per atom μ=2.53 μ_B could be determined, in fair agreement with theoretical predictions. Unusual properties of the phase transition are detected by the combination of both experimental techniques. Strong magnetic anisotropies, which are essential for ferromagnetic order, are determined by CEMS.     

The azimuthal dependent oxidation process on Cu(110) by energetic oxygen molecules

We report a study on the oxidation process induced by a hyperthermal oxygen molecular beam (HOMB) on Cu(110) using X-ray photoemission spectroscopy in conjunction with a synchrotron radiation source. The oxidation process induced by energetic O₂ beams on Cu(110), depending on the azimuthal angle of incidence, suggests that the –Cu–O– added row structure has a role in inhibiting adsorption as a steric obstacle for incident O₂ molecules.     

Electrochemical codeposition of Pt/graphene catalyst for improved methanol oxidation

Pt/graphene electrocatalyst was uniformly deposited on a glassy carbon substrate using a pulsed galvanostatic electrodeposition method, which facilitated the simultaneous electrochemical reduction of graphene oxide and formation of Pt nanoparticles. Compared to the commercial carbon-supported Pt electrocatalyst, the electrochemically reduced Pt/graphene (Pt/ERG) catalyst exhibited improved electrocatalytic activity for methanol oxidation due to the synergistic effects of an increase in the number of catalytic reaction sites and an enhancement of the charge transfer rate.     

One-step synthesis of Pt-Pd catalyst nanoparticles supported on few-layer graphene for methanol oxidation

In this study, Pt-Pd nanoparticles (NPs) supported on few-layer graphene (FLG) have been firstly prepared by one-step arc discharge evaporation of carbon electrodes containing both Pt and Pd elements. The few-layer graphene and Pt-Pd nanoparticles were achieved simultaneously through the evaporation process. After a high-temperature hydrogen treatment, the Pt-Pd/graphene was applied in the study of methanol oxidation in direct methanol fuel cell. The total weight of electrocatalyst keeps 2 wt% of the electrode. The sample with a mass ratio of Pt:Pd = 3:1 (H-Pt₃Pd₁/G) exhibits better electrocatalytic activity (198 mA mg-1 pt) and better tolerance to carbon monoxide(CO) poisoning (I_f/I_b = 1.26). It is noteworthy that the value of I_f/I_b can reach to 1.55 for the sample with the mass ratio of Pt:Pd = 2:1 (H-Pt₂Pd₁/G),which implies its excellent ability of CO tolerance. The introduction of Pd element may open a new strategy to improve the CO tolerance by arc discharge evaporation.     

Excitable CO oxidation on Pt(110) under nonuniform coupling

A new feedback scheme for guided spatiotemporal pattern formation in reaction-diffusion systems is introduced. In contrast to previously established control methods, we present a coupling protocol that is sensitive to the presence of coherent structures in the medium. Applying this feedback to the catalytic CO oxidation on Pt(110) in both experiments and numerical simulations, we show that temporal evolution and spatial extension of self-organizing objects can be efficiently controlled.     

Platinum catalyst on ordered mesoporous carbon with controlled morphology for methanol electrochemical oxidation

Ordered mesoporous carbons CMK-3 with various morphologies are synthesized by using various mesoporous silica SBA-15 as template and then support to prepare Pt/CMK-3 catalyst. The obtained catalysts are compared in terms of the electrocatalytic activity for methanol oxidation in sulfuric acidic solutions. The structure characterizations and electrochemical analysis reveal that Pt catalysts with the CMK-3 support of large particle size and long channel lengths possess larger electrochemical active surface area (ECSA) and higher activity toward methanol oxidation than those with the other two supports. The better performance of Pt/CMK-3 catalyst may be due to the larger area of electrode/electrolyte interface and larger ECSA value of Pt catalyst, which will provide better structure in favor of the mass transport and the electron transport.