Coupled harmonic oscillator models of carbon monoxide adsorbed on stepped,platinum surfaces

Harmonic oscillator models are used to explain recent experimental data on infrared absorption by CO molecules adsorbed on two stepped platinum surfaces. These data reveal only a lower frequency band at low coverage and only a higher frequency band at high coverage. Both bands exist over a range of intermediate coverages. The data are explained by a coupled-dipole model which includes the effects of electronic polarizability, the tilted orientation of CO molecules at step sites, and the electric field enhancement at step sites. The lower-frequency band is associated with CO molecules adsorbed on step sites and the higher-frequency band is associated with two-dimensional islands consisting of both step and terrace CO. The model explains the observed variation of frequency and intensity with coverage for CO adsorption on Pt(533) and Pt(432) surfaces. The model calculations indicate that the wavenumber for a single, linearly bonded CO molecule is about 9 cm⁻¹ higher on a terrace site than on a step site.     

CO stretching vibrations on Pt(111) and Pt(110) studied by sumfrequency generation

Optical sum-frequency generation (SFG) is used to characterize CO stretching vibrations on Pt(111) and Pt(110) surfaces. Different adsorption sites (terminal, bridge and step sites) are identified in the SFG spectra of CO on Pt(111), in good quantitative agreement with previous infrared reflection-absorption experiments on this system. For CO on Pt(110) we only observe CO molecules on terminal sites. The measured CO stretching vibration frequencies on Pt(110), both for low and high coverages, are at variance with the results of previous infrared studies. Our SFG results for CO on Pt(110) are confirmed by independent EELS measurements which, in addition, also reveal the frustrated rotational mode and the metal-CO vibration. The measured frequency of 2065 cm⁻¹ for low CO coverage on Pt(110)-(1 × 2) is consistent with a previously proposed empirical relation between the frequency of an isolated adsorbed CO molecule and the coordination number of the binding Pt surface atom.     

Probing the non-pairwise interactions between CO molecules moving on a Cu(111) surface

The coverage dependent dynamics of CO on a Cu(111) surface are studied on an atomic scale using helium spin-echo spectroscopy. CO molecules occupy top sites preferentially, but also visit intermediate bridge sites in their motion along the reaction coordinate. We observe an increase in hopping rate as the CO coverage grows; however, the motion remains uncorrelated up to at least 0.10 monolayers (ML). From the temperature dependence of the diffusion rate, we find an effective barrier of 98 ± 5 meV for diffusion. Thermal motion is modelled with Langevin molecular dynamics, using a potential energy surface having adsorption sites at top and bridge positions and the experimental data are well represented by an adiabatic barrier for hopping of 123 meV. The sites are not degenerate and the rate changes observed with coverage are modelled successfully by changing the shape of the adiabatic potential energy surface in the region of the transition state without modifying the energy barrier. The results demonstrate that sufficient detail exists in the experimental data to provide information on the principal adsorption sites as well as the energy landscape in the region of the transition state.     

The role of electrodynamic interactions on energy loss intensities of adsorbed molecules

The effect on energy loss intensities of the electrodynamic interactions with the substrate and neighboring adsorbed molecules is discussed. The experimentally observed large variations in the loss intensity from molecules adsorbed on various sites are considered. A simple dipole model of the molecule interacting with its image in the substrate and its neighbors on equivalent and inequivalent sites is used. Good agreement with experiment for a well characterized surface coverage of bridge and on-top bonded CO molecules on Ni(111) is found.     

Structure and Dynamics of Ethanol Adsorbed on a Mica Surface

The structural and dynamic properties of nanoscale ethanol film on a mica surface are investigated via molecular dynamics simulations.We observe a dense,almost flat ethanol bilayer formed in the vicinity of the mica surface,with the hydrophobic alkyl groups pointing outward from the surface.Remarkably,such ethanol bilayer is laterally well-ordered with patterned adsorption sites.Each ethanol molecule in the first layer donates one hydrogen bond to the surface basal oxygen atoms and accepts one hydrogen bond from that in the second layer.The ethanol molecules within the bilayer exhibit constrained lateral mobility and delayed dynamics as compared with bulk ethanol,whereas those on top of the bilayer have bulk-like characteristics.     

CO adsorption on Rh, Pd and Ag atoms deposited on the MgO surface: a comparative ab initio study

The adsorption properties of CO molecules adsorbed on Rh, Pd, and Ag atoms supported on various sites of the MgO surface have been studied by means of a density functional cluster model approach. The metal atoms are stabilized with different binding energies on the regular and morphological defect sites of the surface. Among others we considered oxide anions, neutral and charged anion vacancies (F centers) located at terraces, steps, edges, and corners. CO is used as a probe molecule to characterize where the metal atoms are located. This is done by analyzing how the metal-CO binding energy and the C-O stretching frequency change as function of the substrate site where the metal atom is bound.     

Spin polarization and charge transfer of Co nanoclusters coated with CO molecules

We have investigated magnetic properties of Co clusters coated with CO molecules by first-principles density functional calculations. Total magnetic moment of the system decreases with the increase of CO molecule concentration regardless of adsorption sites for CO molecules. Spin polarization slightly increases as CO molecules are adsorbed on the most stable sites of Co cluster, which is caused by the increased local spin polarization of p-electrons due to charge transfer from Co clusters to CO molecules.     

Collision-induced migration of CO on Pt(9 9 7) surface

Lateral displacement of adsorbates induced by collisions with energy-controlled rare gas atoms was examined in an ultra high vacuum chamber using Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and a supersonic molecular beam apparatus. A stepped Pt(9 9 7) surface was exposed to CO molecules and subsequently to energy-controlled Ne or Ar atoms. There was no change in the CO stretching mode region of the FTIR spectrum of the Pt(9 9 7) surface after Ne atoms having an average translational energy of 0.23 eV were collided with it. However, when Ne atoms having an average translational energy of 0.56 eV were collided with the surface, the intensity of the peak assigned to the CO stretching mode at terrace sites decreased, while that at step sites increased with increasing the exposure to the Ne atoms. This is the demonstration of collision-induced migration, showing that CO molecules adsorbed at the terrace sites migrate laterally to the step sites upon collision with high-energy Ne atoms. In addition, the experimental results demonstrate the existence of an additional energy barrier for jumps across the steps. This investigation demonstrates an advantage of using a molecular beam for studying adsorbate migration.     

Adsorption dynamics of double-stranded DNA on a graphene oxide surface with both large unoxidized and oxidized regions

The adsorption dynamics of double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) molecules on a graphene oxide (GO) surface are important for applications of DNA/GO functional structures in biosensors, biomedicine and materials science. In this work, molecular dynamics simulations were used to examine the adsorption of different length dsDNA molecules (from 4 bp to 24 bp) on the GO surface. The dsDNA molecules could be adsorbed on the GO surface through the terminal bases and stand on the GO surface. For short dsDNA (4 bp) molecules, the double-helix structure was partially or totally broken and the adsorption dynamics was affected by the structural fluctuation of short dsDNA and the distribution of the oxidized groups on the GO surface. For long dsDNA molecules (from 8 bp to 24 bp) adsorption is stable. By nonlinear fitting of the contact angle between the axis of the dsDNA molecule and the GO surface, we found that a dsDNA molecule adsorbed on a GO surface has the chance of orienting parallel to the GO surface if the length of the dsDNA molecule is longer than 54 bp. We attributed this behavior to the flexibility of dsDNA molecules. With increasing length, the flexibility of dsDNA molecules also increases, and this increasing flexibility gives an adsorbed dsDNA molecule more chance of reaching the GO surface with the free terminal. This work provides a whole picture of adsorption of dsDNA molecules on the GO surface and should be of benefit for the design of DNA/GO based biosensors.     

Self-assembly and growth of manganese phthalocyanine on an Au（111） surface

Self-assembly and growth of manganese phthalocyanine (MnPc) molecules on an Au(111) surface is investigated by means of low-temperature scanning tunneling microscopy. At the initial stage, MnPc molecules preferentially occupy the step edges and elbow sites on the Au(111) surface, then they are separately adsorbed on the face-centered cubic and hexagonal closely packed regions due to a long-range repulsive molecule—molecule interaction. After the formation of a closely packed monolayer, molecular islands with second and third layers are observed.     

Methanol decomposition on the β-Ga2O3 (1 0 0) surface: A DFT approach

Density functional theory (DFT) cluster model calculations on methanol reactions on the β-Ga₂O₃ (1 0 0) surface have been realized. β-Ga₂O₃ structure has tetrahedral and octahedral ions and the results of gallia-methanol interaction are different depending on the local surface chemical composition. The surface without oxygen vacancies is very reactive and produces the methanol molecule decomposition. The unsaturated surface oxygen atoms strongly oxidize the methanol molecule. CO₂ and H₂O molecules are produced when methanol reacts with a free oxygen vacancy surface on octahedral gallium sites. On the other hand, H₂CO is found after the reaction of this molecule with a free O vacancy surface on tetrahedral gallium sites. A weak interaction between the remaining CO₂ molecule and the oxide surface was found, being this molecule easy to desorb. Otherwise, H₂CO has a stronger surface bond and it could suffer a later oxidation.     

Atom manipulation with the scanning tunneling microscope: nanostructuring and femtochemistry

We briefly survey our recent studies on the ‘soft’lateral manipulation of atoms and small molecules with the scanning tunneling microscope (STM), whereby mainly the tip–surface forces are employed. Repulsive (pushing) as well as discontinuous (pulling) and continuous (sliding)attractive manipulation modes could be distinguished on Cu(211) for CO molecules and metal atoms, respectively. In the case of pulling of Cu atoms on Cu(111) even finer details could be discerned: the adparticle may show various movement patterns visiting different surface sites upon applying different tip forces. Lateral manipulation also allows modifications of the Cu(211) substrate itself in an atom-by-atom manner by releasing atoms from sixfold coordinated kink sites and even sevenfold coordinated regular step sites. Furthermore, investigations concerning controled vertical manipulation with emphasis on ‘picking-up’ single CO molecules are reported. The mechanism behind vertical transfer of CO molecules relates to ultrafast chemical processes. Vertical manipulation implies, besides extending the possibilities for the build-up of nanostructures, the important possibility of creating structurally and compositionally well-defined tips, which may eventually lead to chemical sensitivity with the STM.     

Multiorbital tunneling ionization of the CO molecule

We coincidently measure the molecular-frame photoelectron angular distribution and the ion sum-momentum distribution of single and double ionization of CO molecules by using circularly and elliptically polarized femtosecond laser pulses, respectively. The orientation dependent ionization rates for various kinetic energy releases allow us to individually identify the ionizations of multiple orbitals, ranging from the highest occupied to the next two lower-lying molecular orbitals for various channels observed in our experiments. Not only the emission of a single electron, but also the sequential tunneling dynamics of two electrons from multiple orbitals are traced step by step. Our results confirm that the shape of the ionizing orbitals determine the strong laser field tunneling ionization in the CO molecule, whereas the linear Stark effect plays a minor role.     

CO和O2分子与TiO2(110)表面负载Pt单原子的相互作用

Pt单原子在低温CO氧化反应中具有很高的催化活性. 利用扫描隧道显微术与密度泛函理论,研究了Pt单原子在还原性TiO₂(110)表面的吸附行为及其与CO和O₂分子的相互作用. 研究发现在80 K低温下,TiO₂表面的氧空位缺陷是Pt单原子的最优吸附位. 将CO和O₂分子分别通入Pt单原子吸附后的TiO₂表面,研究相应的吸附构型. 实验表明在低覆盖度下,单个Pt原子会俘获一个CO分子,CO分子同时与表面次近邻的五配位Ti原子(Ti_5c)成键,进而形成非对称的Pt-CO 复合物构型. 将样品从80 K升温到100 K后,TiO₂表面的CO分子会迁移到Pt-CO处形成Pt-(CO)₂的复合结构. 对于O₂分子,单个Pt原子同样会吸附一个O₂分子,O₂分子也会与最近邻或次近邻的Ti_5c原子成键形成两种Pt-O₂构型. 这些结果在单分子尺度上揭示了CO和O₂与Pt单原子的相互作用,呈现了CO与O₂反应中的初始状态.     

Effect of reduced cooperativity on growth-induced polarity formation: a comparison between different growth models

We investigate the influence of the growth process on macroscopic polarity formation in molecular crystals consisting of polar molecules with two directional states. Specifically, layer-by-layer growth is compared with growth along surface steps, and growth at kink sites. Idealized models for these growth processes are presented, being characterized by the thermal equilibrium formation of a domain of molecules on the surface, ranging from an entire adlayer to a single molecule only (reduced cooperativity). Longitudinal and lateral Ising-type nearest neighbour interactions are taken into account. Formerly attached and thermalized molecules are kept frozen upon growth and therefore, bulk polarity results. Growth models are studied by means of Monte Carlo simulations. Results show that a reduced cooperativity between neighbouring molecules on the crystal surface increases the probability of orientational disorder. However, in the asymptotic limit of infinite growth and for sufficiently strong longitudinal couplings, phenomenologically, evolution of polarity for step and kink growth remains the same as for layer-by-layer growth, being mainly a thermodynamically driven process. Despite their strong out-of-equilibrium character, step and kink growth processes feature a continuous phase transition as layer-by-layer growth and are reasonably well described by an effective lateral coordination number within a mean field approach.     

Comparison of reactivity on step and terrace sites of Pd (3 3 2) surface for the dissociative adsorption of hydrogen: A quantum chemical molecular dynamics study

The notion of “active sites” is fundamental to heterogeneous catalysis. However, the exact nature of the active sites, and hence the mechanism by which they act, are still largely a matter of speculation. In this study, we have presented a systematic quantum chemical molecular dynamics (QCMD) calculations for the interaction of hydrogen on different step and terrace sites of the Pd (3 3 2) surface. Finally the dissociative adsorption of hydrogen on step and terrace as well as the influence of surface hydrogen vacancy for the dissociative adsorption of hydrogen has been investigated through QCMD. This is a state-of-the-art method for calculating the interaction of atoms and molecules with metal surfaces. It is found that fully hydrogen covered (saturated) step sites can dissociate hydrogen moderately and that a monovacancy surface is suitable for significant dissociative adsorption of hydrogen. However in terrace site of the surface we have found that dissociation of hydrogen takes place only on Pd sites where the metal atom is not bound to any pre-adsorbed hydrogen atoms. Furthermore, from the molecular dynamics and electronic structure calculations, we identify a number of consequences for the interpretation and modeling of diffusion experiments demonstrating the coverage and directional dependence of atomic hydrogen diffusion on stepped palladium surface.     

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.     

Be-CO(X1∑+)体系的冷碰撞动力学

基于碱土金属原子Be和分子CO精确的相互作用势,采用对数-导数传播子方法和非耦合角动量表象,计算低和超低能碰撞条件下Be-CO体系在电场中的碰撞动力学,获得若干电场中碰撞体系低场追索态的弹性和非弹性碰撞截面,预测Be原子感应冷却CO分子的可行性.     

Lateral displacement by transient mobility in chemisorption of CO on Pt(997)

We investigated adsorbed states of CO on Pt(997) at 11 K using infrared reflection absorption spectroscopy. At 11 K, thermal migration is suppressed and thus the initial chemisorption at terrace sites and step sites is controlled by the transient mobility of the adsorbing molecule. The initial occupation ratio between atop CO on the terrace and atop CO at the step is directly determined to be 3.6:1. With a simple isotropic migration model, we estimated the mean lateral displacement from the first impact point to the initial chemisorption site to be 6.8 A. We also discuss the origin of transient mobility of CO on metal surfaces.