X-ray induced electron stimulated desorption versus photon stimulated desorption: NH3 on Ni(110)

The X-ray induced desorption of H⁺ ions from NH₃ layers adsorbed at T = 90 K on Ni(110) has been compared to the corresponding total electron yield (TY) in the photon energy range 390 to 900 eV. The H⁺ yield exhibits a jump at the N K-edge and the Ni L-edge which inversely varies with the NH₃ layer thickness. The H⁺ Ni L-edge jump is closely correlated to the TY jump. Both vanish for the saturated NH₃ multilayer, indicating that the observed Ni L-edge jump in the H⁺ yield is exclusively due to X-ray induced electron stimulated desorption (XESD). At the N K-edge, the near edge absorption fine structure of the H⁺ yield and TY of the saturated NH₃ multilayer are distinctly different. This is interpreted as the H ⁺ yield being the superposition of direct photon stimulated ion desorption (PSID) and XESD. Based on the observed variation of the H⁺ yield near edge fine structure with varying NH₃ layer thickness, a deconvolution of the PSID and XESD contributions is used to derive the relative contribution of PSID versus XESD to be 40% versus 60%, respectively. The relevance of this result for future PSID-SEXAFS studies is discussed. For monolayer NH₃ on Ni(110) the polarization dependence of the N K-edge fine structure in the N(KVV) Auger yield indicates that the symmetry axis of NH₃, is perpendicular to the surface.     

c-C5H5 on a Ni(1 1 1) surface: Theoretical study of the adsorption, electronic structure and bonding

In the present work the ASED-MO method is applied to study the adsorption of cyclopentadienyl anion on a Ni(1 1 1) surface. The adsorption with the centre of the aromatic ring placed above the hollow position has been identified to be energetically the most favourable. The aromatic ring remains almost flat, the H atoms are tilted 17° away from the metal surface. We modelled the metal surface by a two-dimensional slab of finite thickness, with an overlayer of c-C₅H₅⁻, one c-C₅H₅⁻ per nine surface Ni atoms. The c-C₅H₅⁻ molecule is attached to the surface with its five C atoms bonding mainly with three Ni atoms. The NiNi bond in the underlying surface and the CC bonds of c-C₅H₅⁻ are weakened upon adsorption. We found that the band of Ni 5dz² orbitals plays an important role in the bonding between c-C₅H₅⁻ and the surface, as do the Ni 6s and 6p_z bands.     

Bond activation sequence observed in the chemisorption and surface reaction of ethanol on Ni(111)

The mechanism of ethanol decomposition on the Ni(111) surface has been investigated between 155 and 500 K. The sequence of bond scission steps which occur as ethanol undergoes dissociative reactions on this surface has been deduced using deuterium and ¹³C isotopic labels. Bond activation occurs in the order (1) OH, (2) CH₂ (methylene CH), (3) CC, (4) CH₃ (methyl CH). The products observed are CH₃CHO(g), CH₄(g), CO(g), H₂(g) and surface carbon, C(a). The latter species exhibits a carbidic AES lineshape in the temperature range 450 to 670 K, at which temperature it dissolves into the Ni bulk. Acetaldehyde, CH₃CHO, and methane, CH₄, desorb with the same threshold temperature (260–265 K), and the formation of both of these products is controlled by scission of the methylene CH bond (CH₂ group). The CH₃ group is cleaved from the intermediate surface CH₃CHO species to form CH₃(ads). H₂ exhibits a broad, doublet desorption peak from 300 to 450 K. The carbonoxygen bond in ethanol remains intact and CO ultimately desorbs in a single desorption limited process (T_p = 430 K). A small fraction of CO(a) species undergo exchange with the carbidic surface carbon in a minor process observed above 440 K.     

Density functional study of hypophosphite adsorption on Ni (1 1 1) and Cu (1 1 1) surfaces

Surface structures and electronic properties of hypophosphite, H₂PO₂⁻, molecularly adsorbed on Ni(1 1 1) and Cu(1 1 1) surfaces are investigated in this work by density functional theory at B3LYP/6-31++g(d, p) level. We employ a four-metal-atom cluster as the simplified model for the surface and have fully optimized the geometry and orientation of H₂PO₂⁻ on the metal cluster. Six stable orientations have been discovered on both Ni (1 1 1) and Cu (1 1 1) surfaces. The most stable orientation of H₂PO₂⁻ was found to have its two oxygen atoms interact the surface with two PO bonds pointing downward. Results of the Mulliken population analysis showed that the back donation from 3d orbitals of the transition metal substrate to the unfilled 3d orbital of the phosphorus atom in H₂PO₂⁻ and 4s orbital's acceptance of electron donation from one lone pair of the oxygen atom in H₂PO₂⁻ play very important roles in the H₂PO₂⁻ adsorption on the transition metals. The averaged electron configuration of Ni in Ni₄ cluster is 4s^0.634p^0.023d^9.35 and that of Cu in Cu₄ cluster is 4s^1.004p^0.033d^9.97. Because of this subtle difference of electron configuration, the adsorption energy is larger on the Ni surface than on the Cu surface. The amount of charge transfers due to above two donations is larger from H₂PO₂⁻ to the Ni surface than to the Cu surface, leading to a more positively charged P atom in Ni_nH₂PO₂⁻ than in Cu_nH₂PO₂⁻. These results indicate that the phosphorus atom in Ni_nH₂PO₂⁻ complex is easier to be attacked by a nucleophile such as OH⁻ and subsequent oxidation of H₂PO₂⁻ can take place more favorably on Ni substrate than on Cu substrate.     

The adsorption of CO,H2, H2, CO2 and H2O on carburized and graphitized Ni(110)

A study of the adsorption/desorption behavior of CO, H₂O, CO₂ and H₂ on Ni(110)(4 × 5)-C and Ni(110)-graphite was made in order to assess the importance of desorption as a rate-limiting step for the decomposition of formic acid and to identify available reaction channels for the decomposition. The carbide surface adsorbed CO and H₂O in amounts comparable to the clean surface, whereas this surface, unlike clean Ni(110), did not appreciably adsorb H₂. The binding energy of CO on the carbide was coverage sensitive, decreasing from 21 to 12 $\text{kcal}\text{mol}$ as the CO coverage approached 1.1 × 10¹⁵ molecules cm^?2 at 200K. The initial sticking probability and maximum coverage of CO on the carbide surface were close to that observed for clean Ni(110). The amount of H₂, CO, CO₂ and H₂O adsorbed on the graphitized surface was insignificant relative to the clean surface. The kinetics of adsorption/desorption of the states observed are discussed.     

The Synthesis,Vibrational Spectra,Electronic Spectra,and Thermal Analysis of Some Mixed Complexes with Planar Dithiooxamides

Planar Pd(LH)₂ complexes (LH₂ = H₂N C S C S N H₂, CH₃HNCSCSNHCH₃) form mixed polymeric complexes with Ni(II), Cu(II), Zn(II) and Cd(II) in alcalic media, where the planar Pd(LH)₂ complexes act as tetradentates with N-coordination. The electronic spectra and thermal behaviour are discussed, a thorough investigation of the i.r. spectra is presented and special attention has been given to the H/D, CH₃/CD₃ and ⁵⁸Ni/⁶²Ni, ⁶³Cu/⁶⁵Cu and ⁶⁴Zn/⁶⁸Zn isotopic shifts.     

A photoemission study of the interaction of Ni(100), (110) and (111) surfaces with oxygen

Photoelectron spectroscopic studies of the oxidation of Ni(111), Ni(100) and Ni(110) surfaces show that the oxidation process proceeds at 295 and 485 K in two distinct steps: a fast dissociative chemisorption of oxygen followed by oxide nucleation and lateral oxide growth to a limiting coverage of 3 NiO layers. The oxygen concentration in the 295 K saturated oxygen layer on Ni(111) was confirmed by ¹⁶O(d,p) ¹⁷O nuclear microanalysis. At 295 and 485 K the oxide growth rates are in the order Ni(110) > Ni(111) > Ni(100). At 77 K the oxygen uptake proceeds at the same rate on all three surfaces and shows a continually decreasing sticking coefficient to saturation at ~2.1 layers (based upon NiO). An O 1sb.e. = 529.7 eV is associated with NiO, and O ls b.e.'s of ~531.5 and 531.3 eV can be associated, respectively, with defect oxide (Ni₂O₃) or (in the presence of H₂O) with an NiO(H) species. The binding energies (Ni 2p, O 1s) of this NiO(H) species are similar to those for Ni(OH)₂. Defect oxides are produced by oxidation at 485 K, or by oxidation of damaged films (e.g. from Ar⁺ sputtering) and evaporated films. Wet oxidation (or exposure to air) of clean nickel surfaces and oxides, and exposure of thick oxide to hydrogen at high temperature results in an O 1s b.e. ~531.3 eV species. Nuclear microanalysis ²H(³He,p) ⁴He indicates the presence of protonated species in the latter samples. Oxidation at 77 K yields O 1s b.e.'s of 529.7 and ~531 eV; the nature of the high b.e. species is not known. Both clean and oxidised nickel surfaces show a low reactivity towards H₂O; clean nickel surfaces are ~10³ times less reactive to H₂O than to oxygen.     

Theoretical study of hydrogen dissociation and diffusion on Nb and Ni co-doped Mg(0001): A synergistic effect

The interaction of H₂ with clean, Ni and Nb doped Mg(0001) surface are investigated by first-principles calculations. Individual Ni and Nb atoms within the outermost surface can reduce the dissociation barrier of the hydrogen molecule. They, however, prefers to substitute for the Mg atoms within the second layer, leading to a weaker catalytic effect for the dissociation of H₂, a bottleneck for the hydriding of MgH₂. Interestingly, co-doping of Ni and Nb stabilizes Ni at the first layer, and results in a significant reduction of the dissociation barrier of H₂ on the Mg surface, coupled with an increase of the diffusion barrier of H. Although codoped Ni and Nb shows no remarkable advantage over single Nb here, it implies that the catalytic effect could be optimized by co-doping of “modest” transition metals with balanced barriers for dissociation of H₂ and diffusion of H on Mg surfaces.     

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.     

Surface modification of Ni and Co metal nanowires through MeV high energy ion irradiation

Nickel (Ni) and cobalt (Co) metal nanowires were fabricated by using an electrochemical deposition method based on an anodic alumina oxide (Al₂O₃) nanoporous template. The electrolyte consisted of NiSO₄ · 6H₂O and H₃BO₃ in distilled water for the fabrication of Ni nanowires, and of CoSO₄ · 7H₂O with H₃BO₃ in distilled water for the fabrication of the Co ones. From SEM and TEM images, the diameter and length of both the Ni and Co nanowires were measured to be ∼ 200 nm and 5–10 μm, respectively. We observed the oxidation layers in nanometer scale on the surface of the Ni and Co nanowires through HR–TEM images. The 3 MeV Cl²⁺ ions were irradiated onto the Ni and Co nanowires with a dose of 1 × 10¹⁵ ions/cm². The surface morphologies of the pristine and the 3 MeV Cl²⁺ ion-irradiated Ni and Co nanowires were compared by means of SEM, AFM, and HR–TEM experiments. The atomic concentrations of the pristine and the 3 MeV Cl²⁺ ion-irradiated Ni and Co nanowires were investigated through XPS experiments. From the results of the HR–TEM and XPS experiments, we observed that the oxidation layers on the surface of the Ni and Co nanowires were reduced through 3 MeV Cl²⁺ ion irradiation.     

Hartree-Fock-Slater-LCAO studies of the acetylene-transition metal interaction: I. Chemisorption on Ni surfaces; cluster models

The interaction of C₂H₂ with Ni surfaces has been studied by the Hartree-Fock-Slater-LCAO method (with core pseudopotentials). Different adsorption sites (π, di-σ, μ₂, μ₃) at the Ni(111) surface have been modelled by clusters of 1 to 4 Ni atoms; the structure of C₂H₂ and the Ni-C distance have been varied (3 structures, 2 distances). The acetylene-metal bonding can be interpreted in terms of π to metal donation and, especially, metal to π¹ back donation effects which considerably weaken the C-C bond. These effects become increasingly important when more metal atoms are directly involved in the adsorption bonding: π < di-σ < μ₂ < μ₃. The calculated shifts in the ionization energies are in fair agreement with the experimentally observed shifts (by UPS) for C₂H₂ adsorbed on Ni(111) (and other Ni surfaces); these shifts do not depend very sensitively on the bonding situation, however, so that we could not assign the structure of adsorbed C₂H₂ solely on this basis. From the comparison between the measured C-C stretch frequency (by ELS) and the calculated C-C overlap populations, using a relation calibrated on Ni-acetylene complexes, we find that μ₃ bonding of C₂H₂ with a Ni-C distance of about 1.9 Å is most probable on the Ni(111) surface; the CCH angle is estimated to be somewhat smaller than 150°. We have suggested an explanation for the surface specific dissociation of C₂H₂: C₂ fragments (C-H bond breaking) have been observed on stepped Ni surfaces (at low temperature), CH fragments (C-C bond breaking) have been found on ideal surfaces (at higher temperatures).     

Adsorption behavior of H2O on clean and oxygen precovered Ni(s)(111)

Photoelectron spectroscopy (UPS), thermal desorption spectroscopy (TDS), isotope exchange experiments, work function change (δφ) and LEED were used to study the adsorption and dissociation behavior of H₂O on a clean and oxygen precovered stepped Ni(s)[12(111) × (111)] surface. On the clean Ni(111) terraces fractional monolayers of H₂O are adsorbed weakly in a single adsorption state with a desorption peak temperature of 180 K, just above that of the ice multilayer desorption peak (T_m = 155 K). In the angular resolved UPS spectra three H₂O induced emission maxima at 6.2, 8.5 and 12.3 eV below E_F were found for θ ≈ 0.5. Angular and polarization dependent UPS measurements show that the C_2v symmetry of the H₂O gas-phase molecule is not conserved for H₂O(ad) on Ni(s)(111). Although the Δφ suggest a bonding of H₂O to Ni via the negative end of the H₂O dipole, the O atom, no hints for a preferred orientation of the H₂O molecular axes were found in the UPS, neither for the existence of water dimers nor for a long range ordered H₂O bilayer. These results give evidence that the molecular H₂O axis is more or less inclined with respect to the surface normal with an azimuthally random distribution. H₂O adsorption at step sites of the Ni(s)(111) surface leads in TDS to a desorption maximum at T_m = 225 K; the binding energy of H₂O to Ni is enhanced by about 30% compared to H₂O adsorbed on the terraces. Oxygen precoverage causes a significant increase of the H₂O desorption energy from the Ni(111) terraces by about 50%, suggesting a strong interaction between H₂O and O(ad). Work function measurements for H₂O+O demonstrate an increase of the effective H₂O dipole moment which suggests a reorientation of the H₂O dipole in the presence of O(ad), from inclined to a more perpendicular position. Although TDS and Δφ suggest a significant lateral interaction between H₂O+O(ad), no changes in the molecular binding energies in UPS and no “isotope exchange” between ¹⁸O(ad) and H₂¹⁶O(ad) could be observed. Also, dissociation of H₂O could neither be detected on the oxygen precovered Ni(s)(111) nor on the clean terraces.     

Ion induced secondary electron emission from single crystal surfaces

Yields of ion impact induced electrons from very pure Ni(110) and Ni(111) surfaces have been measured. In several tilt planes the angle of incidence of a 5 keV H⁺, H⁺₂ or H⁺₃ ion beam is varied from perpendicular to grazing incidence. Below = 75° the yield increases as sec but shows characteristic depressions when the beam is incident along crystallographically low indexed lattice directions. This is explained by kinetic electron emission with respect to the projectile transparency of the crystal lattice.     

Vibrational spectra of ethylene and acetylene on metal surfaces - an electron energy loss study of ethylene adsorbed on Ni(110) and its carbided surface,and the use of metal-cluster analogies

An analysis has been made of on- and off-specular electron energy loss spectra (EELS) from C₂H₄ and C₂D₄ adsorbed on a clean Ni(110) and also a carbided Ni(110) surface. The carbided surface was prepared by heating the clean Ni surface in ethylene to 573 K or above. EELS spectra were obtained using a Leybold-Heraeus spectrometer at a beam energy of 3.0 eV and with a resolution of ca. 6.5 meV (ca. 50 cm^?1).The loss spectrum from ethylene at low temperatures (110 K) showed principal features at 3000 (w), 1468 (w), 1162 (s), 879 (w) and 403 cm^?1 (s) (C₂D₄ adsorption) and 2186 (w), 1258 (ms), 944 (ms), 645 (w) and 400 cm^?1 (s) (C₂D₄ adsorption). The overall pattern of wavenumbers and intensifies of the C₂H₄/C₂D₄ loss peaks is very similar in form (although systematically different in positions) to those previously observed on Ni(111) (ref.1) and Pt(111) (ref.2) surfaces at low temperatures. Like these earlier spectra,the EELS results for C₂H₄/C₂D₄ adsorbed on clean Ni(110) can be well interpreted in terms of a MCH₂CH₂M/MCD₂CD₂M species (M = metal) with the CC bond parallel to the surface.After adsorption on the carbided Ni(110) surfaces at 125 K,the main loss features occur at 3065 (m), 2992 (m), 1524 (ms), 1250 (s), 895 (s), and 314 cm^?1 (vs) (C₂H₄ adsorption) and 2339 (m), 2242 (m), 1395 (s), 968 (s), 661 (m) and 314 cm^?1 (vs). With the exceptions of reduced intensities of the bands at 895 cm^?1 (C₂H₄) and 661 cm^?1 (C₂D₄) this pattern of losses - particularly the 1550-1200 cm^?1 features which can be assigned to coupled νCC and δCH₂/δCD₂ modes - is well related to similar results on Cu(100) (ref.3) and Pd(111) (ref.4) which have been interpreted convincingly in terms of the presence of π-bonded species, (C₂H₄)M or (C₂D₄)M on the surface. This structural assignment is supported by comparison with the vibrational spectra of Zeise's salt, K[PtCl₃(C₂H₄)].H₂O (refs.5&6).Spectral changes occur on warming C₂H₄ on the clean Ni(110) surface with a growth of a feature near 895 cm^?1 at 200 K. At 300 K a rather poorly-defined spectrum occurs, which differs substantially from those found on (111) surfaces of Pt (ref.2), Rh (ref.7) or Pd (ref.8) at room temperature. These latter have been attributed to the ethylidyne, CH₃.CM₃, surface species (ref.9). For adsorption on Ni(110) there is clearly a mixture of species at room temperature.The analysis of the vibrational spectra of selected metal-cluster compounds of known structure with selected hydrocarbon ligands has helped substantially to assign the spectra of surface species in terms of bonding structures of the adsorbed species, as in the cases of the identification of (C₂H₄)M π-adsorbed (refs.5&6) and the ethylidyne CH₃.CM₃ species (ref.9). We have recently analysed the infrared and Raman spectra of the cluster compound (C₂H₂)Os₃(CO)₁₀ and its deuterium-containing analogue. The infrared frequency and intensity pattern for the A′ modes (C_S symmetry) of the two isotopomers bears a remarkable resemblance to EELS spectra previously obtained at low temperature for C₂H₂/C₂D₂ adsorbed on Pt(111) (ref.2) and (after taking into account systematic frequency shifts) for Pd(111) (ref.4). There is good evidence for believing that the structure of the hydrocarbon ligand interacting with the osmium complex takes the form

where the arrow denotes a π-bond to the third metal atom. This strongly confirms the structure for the low-temperature acetylene species on Pt(111) as proposed by Ibach and Lehwald (ref.2).Finally the room-temperature spectra for ethylene adsorbed on finely-divided silica-supported Pt and Pd catalysts have previously been interpreted in terms of the presence of MCH₂CH₂M (ref.10) and π-bonded (C₂H₄)M species (ref.11). However comparisons with the more recent EELS spectra from ethylene on Pt(111) at room temperature (ref.2) now leads to a reassignment of the 2880 cm^?1 band, on Pt, previously assigned to MCH₂CH₂M, together with a new, related,band at 1340 cm^?1 (ref.12), to the ethylidyne species CH₃CPt₃ found on the single crystal surface.More detailed analyses of the spectra reported here will be published later. Acknowledgement is given to substantial assistance for this programme of research from the Science and Engineering Research Council.     

Adsorption and co-adsorption of CH<Subscript>3</Subscript> and H on flat and defective nickel (111) surfaces

We use a periodic density functional theory (DFT) code to study the adsorption of CH₃ and H, as well as their co-adsorption on a Ni(111) surface with and without Ni ad-atom, at a surface coverage of 0.25 monolayer (ML). We systematically investigate the site preference for CH₃ and H. Then we combine CH₃ and H in many co-adsorbed configurations on both surfaces. Methyl and hydrogen adsorption on a flat Ni(111) surface favours the hollow site over the top site. The presence of a Ni ad-atom stabilizes the adsorption of CH₃ better than a flat surface, while hydrogen is more stable on a flat Ni(111) surface. When H and CH₃ are co-adsorbed at nearest Ni neighbours on the (111) surface, their interaction is always repulsive. However, the dissociative adsorption of CH₄ is stabilised when the fragments are infinitely separated. For the co-adsorbed fragments CH₃ and H, in the presence of an ad-atom, the repulsive interaction is lowered, so that the dissociative form of CH₄ is locally stable.     

The mechanism of H2 dissociation and adsorption on Mn-modified Ni(111) surface: A density functional theory-based investigation

The mechanism of H₂ dissociative adsorption on Mn-modified Ni(111) surface is investigated and explained using spin-polarized density functional theory (DFT). Potential energy surface (PES) is used to determine the efficient reaction pathway of H₂ on the surface. The dissociative adsorption of H₂ in the hollow sites with its center-of-mass (CM) positioned on top of Ni atom has low activation barrier. This is lower compared if its CM is on top of the Mn atom. The difference in the reactivity of H₂ with Ni and Mn as the CM is corroborated by the positions of the bonding and antibonding orbitals of H₂ as it approaches the surface which is verified from local density of states (LDOS). The greater density of states in the region around the Fermi level of the d_zz, d_xz, and d_yz orbitals of the Ni atom explains the low activation barrier obtained for the dissociation of H₂ on top of the Ni atom in the Mn-modified Ni(111) surface.     

Ejection of H2O,O2, H2 and H from water ice by 0.5–6 keV H+ and Ne+ ion bombardment

The ejection of H₂O, O₂, H₂ and H from water ice at 30–140 K, bombarded by 0.5–6 keV H⁺ and Ne⁺ was studied experimentally. Neon ions in this energy range deposit their energy in the ice by nuclear collisions, whereas with protons of 0.5 to 6 keV the energy deposition mechanism shifts gradually from predominantly nuclear collisions to predominantly electronic processes. The existing theory of nuclear sputtering predicts very well the yield of ejected water molecules and the experimental results in the region of electronic processes agree well with the experimental results of Lanzerotti, Brown and Johnson. However, the major mass loss from water by ion bombardment is via the ejection of O₂, H₂ and H atoms, which exceed the ejection of water molecules. O₂ and H₂ production is markedly enhanced at temperatures exceeding ~100 K, whereas H₂O and H production are temperature independent, suggesting that O₂ and H₂ are produced in the bulk of the ice whereas H₂O and H atoms are ejected from the surface or near surface layers.     

Effects of subsurface Na,H and C on the bonding of carbon to nickel surfaces

This paper reports the results of a theoretical study of Na, H and C subsurface atomic species in nickel and demonstrates how these interstitial atoms influence the reactivity of the Ni(111) surface and the structure of carbon species adsorbed on the surface. The benzene molecule, C₆H₆, in planar and nonplanar geometries, is used to probe bonding at the surface. Adsorption energies are calculated by ab initio configuration interaction techniques modelling the surface as an embedded cluster. Adsorption energies of planar C₆H₆ at the most stable, three-fold, adsorption site are 18 kcal/mol for the Ni(111) surface, and 10, 19 and 44 kcal/mol in the presence of the Na, H and C interstitials, respectively. The energies required for the planar to puckered distortion are 99 kcal/mol on Ni(111), 69 kcal/mol with the Na interstitial, 83 kcal/mol with H, and 134 kcal/mol with C compared to 198 kcal/mol for distortion of C₆H₆ in the gas phase. The possible relevance of these results to the nucleation of diamond on nickel are discussed. The results indicate that subsurface Na stabilizes tetrahedrally bonded carbon subunits of the diamond structure while subsurface C may make it easier for the overlayer to revert to a planar graphite structure.     

Hydrogen oxidation and proton transport at the Ni–zirconia interface in solid oxide fuel cell anodes: Quantum chemical predictions

We explore the hydrogen anode reaction chemistry at the Ni–zirconia triple phase boundary in solid oxide fuel cells by using hybrid density functional quantum chemistry calculations and cluster models. The activation energy for H spillover is calculated to be the same order of magnitude as experimental estimates at the reversible potential. Proton transport on the oxide surface is shown to be activated by strongly held hydrogen-bonded water molecules: in the absence of H₂O the activation energy is calculated to be 4.98 eV and the water molecule reduces the activation energy to 0.25 eV. Substitutional Y³⁺ (for Zr⁴⁺) is shown to slow proton diffusion when present in the zirconia surface.     

Comparison of sulfur interaction with hydrogen on Pt(1 1 1), Ni(1 1 1) and Pt3Ni(1 1 1) surfaces: The effect of intermetallic bonding

Adsorption strengths of hydrogen and sulfur both individually and together as co-adsorbates were investigated on Pt(1 1 1), Ni(1 1 1) and Pt₃Ni(1 1 1) surfaces using density functional theory in order to determine the effect of metal alloying on sulfur tolerance. The adsorption strengths of H and S singly follow the same trend: Ni(1 1 1) > Pt(1 1 1) > Pt₃Ni(1 1 1), which correlates well with the respective d-band center positions of each surface. We find that the main effect of alloying is to distort both the sub-layer structure and the Pt overlayer resulting in a lowered d-band. For all three surfaces, the d-band shifts downward non-linearly as a function of S coverage. Nearly identical decreases in d-band position were calculated for each surface, leading to an expectation that subsequent adsorption of H would scale with surface type similarly to single species adsorption. In contradiction to this expectation, there was no clearly discernable difference between the energies of coadsorbed H on Pt(1 1 1) and Ni(1 1 1) and only a slightly lowered energy on Pt₃Ni(1 1 1). This provides evidence that coadsorbed species in close proximity interact directly through itinerant mobile electrons and through electrostatic repulsion rather than solely through the electronic structure of the surface. The combination of the lowered d-band position (arising from distorted geometry) and direct co-adsorbate interactions on Pt₃Ni(1 1 1) leads to a lower energy barrier for H₂S formation on the surface compared to pure Pt(1 1 1). Thus, alloying Pt with Ni both decreases the likelihood of S adsorption and favors S removal through H₂S formation.