binding states of CO and H2 on clean and oxidized (111)Pt

The binding states and sticking coefficients of CO and H₂ on clean and oxide covered (111)Pt are examined using flash desorption mass spectrometry and Auger electron spectroscopy (AES). On the clean surface at 78 K there is one major binding state of CO with a desorption activation energy which decreases with coverage plus a second smaller state, while H₂ exhibits three binding states with peak temperatures of 140, 230 and 310 K and saturation density ratios of 0.5 : 1 : 1. Desorption kinetics of CO are consistent with a first order state with a normal pre-exponential factor of 10^{13 ± 1} sec^?1, while all three peaks of H₂ are broader than expected. Interpretations in terms of anomalous pre-exponential factors, coverage dependent desorption activation energies, and desorption orders are considered. On the oxidized surface saturation densities of both gases are nearly identical to those on the clean surface, but desorption temperatures are increased significantly and the initial sticking coefficient on the oxide decreases slightly for CO and increases slightly for H₂.     

Characterization and chemical behavior of submonolayer coverages of titania on a Pt foil

The interaction between submonolayer titania coverages and Pt foil has been studied by Auger electron spectroscopy (AES), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), temperature programmed desorption (TPD) and high-resolution electron energy loss spectroscopy (HREELS). The submonolayer titania can be fully oxidized to TiO₂ at 923 K under 10⁻⁸ Torr O₂, and partially oxidized to TiO_x at lower oxidation temperatures. The oxidized surface can be reduced by annealing to 1000 K or higher, or by heating in H₂ at 823 K, or by interacting with surface carbon formed from acetone decomposition. Under certain conditions (e.g., hydrogen reduction at 923 K), the surface titania can be fully reduced to metallic Ti which diffuses into bulk Pt readily. The reduced metallic Ti can resurface when the surface is oxidized at 923 K. Both XPS and HREELS data indicate the existence of subsurface oxygen, which plays an important role for the diffusion of Ti into and out of the Pt foil. Although no special interfacial active sites were revealed by HREELS studies of adsorbed acetone and CO, some TPD and XPS data suggest the presence of sites active for acetone decomposition.     

Cu adsorption on Pt(111) and its effects on Chemisorption: A comparison with electrochemistry

The growth modes and interaction of vapor-deposited Cu on a clean Pt(111) surface have been monitored by Auger electron spectroscopy (AES), low energy electron diffraction (LEED), and work function measurements. The LEED data indicate that below 475 K Cu grows in p(1 × 1) islands in the first monolayer with the interatomic Cu spacing the same as the Pt(111) substrate. The second monolayer of Cu grows in epitaxial, rotationally commensurate Cu(111) planes with the CuCu distance the same as bulk Cu. For substrate temperatures below ～ 475 K, the variation of work function and “cross-over beam voltage” with Cu coverage show characteristic features at one monolayer that are quite useful for calibration of θ_Cu. Above 525 K, Cu-Pt alloy formation was observed in AES and LEED data. Thermal desorption spectroscopy of H₂ and CO has demonstrated that simple site blocking of the Pt(111) surface by vapor-deposited Cu occurs linearly with chemisorption being essentially eliminated at θ_Cu = 1.0–1.15. Conclusions drawn from this work correlate very favorably with the well-known effects of under potentially deposited copper on the electrochemistry of the H₂2H⁺ couple at platinum electrodes.     

Surface characterization of supported Pt,Rh, and alloy particles by CO chemisorption

Temperature programmed desorption (TPD) of CO is used to determine surface areas, binding states, and changes upon oxidation for 10–1000 Å particles of Pt, Rh, and Pt-Rh alloy on amorphous SiO₂. A low area sample configuration is used to obtain rapid and uniform heating and cooling in an ultra-high vacuum system. It is shown that both metals exhibit a higher CO binding state for small particles, but, as particle size increases, this state disappears and is replaced by a more weakly bound state. These states are suggested to be associated with (111) and higher surface free energy planes on these surfaces, heating Rh above 700 K in O₂ at 10^?6 Torr produces an oxide on which the CO saturation coverage is at least a factor of 10 lower than on the reduced surface. For Pt, oxidation produces only a small decrease in CO coverage, although the binding energy of CO increases on the oxygen treated surface. The difference in desorption temperatures for CO on Pt and Rh is consistent with previous experiments which show that an oxidation-reduction cycle produces a surface layer which is enriched in Rh and that the oxidized alloy contains no Pt atoms.     

Adsorption of H2 and CO on clean and oxidized (110) Pt

Binding states and sticking coefficients of CO and H₂ on clean and oxide covered (110) planes of Pt are examined using flash desorption mass spectrometry to characterize binding states and Auger electron spectroscopy (AES) to characterize oxide densities. It is found that on the oxide both adsorbates have new binding states with significantly higher binding energies than on the clean surface. For H₂ the binding states associated with the clean surface are also shifted to higher energies as the oxide coverage increases. The oxide state for H₂ desorbs with first order kinetics, and isotope exchange experiments are used to examine exchange between isotopes and between states. The initial sticking coefficients for CO are 1.0 and 0.85 on clean and oxidized surfaces, and the initial sticking coefficient for H₂ increases from 0.15 on the clean surface to 0.28 on the oxidized surface. Enhanced bonding on the oxide is interpreted in terms of models involving microfacets, electronic structure alteration, and compound formation.     

Adsorption and interaction of CO and NO on Pt(410): I. TPD studies

NO and CO adsorption and the NO/CO reaction on Pt(410) are studied by TPD. NO is found to dissociate on Pt(410) at 120 K, but it reacts to form N₂O at higher exposures. The N₂O desorbs in two peaks at 135 and 150 K. CO adsorbs molecularly, and desorbs in 5 peaks at 550, 500, 450, 380 and about 130 K. CO is also found to dissociate upon heating, leaving a carbon residue on the surface which changes the TPD spectra. The NO/CO reaction shows a surface explosion at 360 K. These results provide additional evidence that Pt(410) has unusual reactivity, as predicted by Banholzer, Park, Mak and Masel, Surface Sci. 128 (1983) 176.     

The NO + CO reaction on Pt(100)

The interaction of NO with CO and with H₂ on Pt(100) was studied by temperature programmed desorption (TPD), isothermal desorption mass spectrometry, and low energy electron diffraction (LEED), TPD of NO and CO coadsorbed at 120 K yields almost complete reaction with both N₂ and CO₂ products desorbing as sharp, simultaneous peaks at ≈ 410 K. with full widths at half maximum as narrow as 3 K. Isothermal desorption mass spectrometry yields N₂ and CO₂ rates that exhibit a maximum with time. Both experiments indicate that the reaction mechanism is autocatalytic. Annealing NO-CO adlayers formed at 120 K to temperatures above 300 K causes the subsequent N₂ and CO₂ TPD peaks to broaden.'TPD of NO coadsorbed with H₂ yields sharp N₂ and H₂O product peaks that closely resemble the N₂ and CO₂ peaks observed in the NO + CO reaction. LEED experiments during TPD and isothermal desorption showed that the (1 × 1) → hex substrate phase transformation sometimes accompanies desorption of N₂ and CO₂. The TPD and isothermal desorption results can be fit by two simple models: chemical autocatalysis, in which an intermediate chemical species participates in a “chain propagation” reaction, and structural autocatalysis, which involves the formation of a reactive intermediate structure involving Pt atom displacements.     

Oxygen-exchange reaction between O2 and NO coadsorbed on a Pt(111) surface: reactivity of molecularly adsorbed oxygen

The oxygen-exchange reaction between N¹⁶O and ¹⁸O₂ coadsorbed on Pt(111) has been studied by temperature-programmed desorption (TPD). Reaction products of N¹⁸O and ¹⁸O¹⁶O are desorbed from Pt(111) initially saturated with ¹⁸O₂ at 94 K followed by exposure of N¹⁶O. Three distinct desorption peaks are observed in N¹⁸O TPD spectra at 145, 310, and 340 K, and two peaks in ¹⁸O¹⁶O at 155 K and between 600 and 1000 K. In contrast, the exchange reaction is greatly suppressed when oxygen molecules are replaced with oxygen adatoms at three-fold hollow sites of Pt(111). These results strongly suggest that adsorbed oxygen molecules are responsible for the exchange reaction. NO₂ or NO₃ is postulated as a reaction intermediate. However, since desorption signals corresponding to these species are not detected, the oxygen-exchanged products are not due to the cracking processes of the higher order nitrogen oxides in the mass spectrometer. Thus, the reaction proceeds via the intermediate that is dissociated during the elevation of surface temperature.     

Interaction of dimethyl methylphosphonate with oxidized iron and the effect of coadsorbed water

The behavior of dimethyl methylphosphonate (DMMP), dosed at 100 K with and without coadsorbed water on oxidized iron has been examined by temperature programmed desorption (TPD) and Auger electron spectroscopy (AES). Molecular and dissociated states of DMMP are readily distinguished by the P(LMM) Auger lineshape. At low coverages DMMP undergoes complete decomposition during heating, leaving carbon, phosphorus and oxygen residues on the surface. The major low temperature decomposition products are CH₃OH, H₂O, CO, H₂ and a surface phosphate species. The DMMP decomposition is limited and large exposures lead to molecular DMMP desorption characteristics of multilayers (200–210 K). Pre-exposure to H₂O increases the extent of DMMP decomposition.     

Reactions of methanol and ethylene glycol on Ni/Pt: Bridging the materials gap between single crystal and polycrystalline bimetallic surfaces

The catalytic decompositions of methanol and ethylene glycol on polycrystalline Ni/Pt surfaces were used as model probe reactions to explore oxygenate reforming for H₂ production. In the current study we evaluated whether favorable chemistry observed on single crystal Ni/Pt(111) can be extended to more commercially relevant polycrystalline surfaces, thus bridging the “materials gap”. Auger electron spectroscopy (AES) confirmed that two distinct bimetallic configurations can be formed for the Ni/Pt system, each possessing unique chemical properties: one with the surface enriched in Ni atoms, designated NiPtPt, and the other with the subsurface region enriched in Ni atoms, designated PtNiPt. Consistent with single crystal studies, temperature programmed desorption (TPD) revealed that the NiPtPt configuration was more active for reforming to CO and H₂ than either polycrystalline Pt or PtNiPt. High-resolution electron energy loss spectroscopy (HREELS) confirmed the presence of strongly bound reaction intermediates on NiPtPt, including aldehyde-like species, which was also observed on Ni–Pt–Pt(111). The strongly bound reaction intermediates most likely contribute to the high reforming activity observed on NiPtPt. Overall, TPD and HREELS results on polycrystalline surfaces were in general consistent with their single crystal counterparts for the reforming of oxygenates.     

Formation and hydrogenation of p(2 × 2)-N on Pt(1 1 1)

The formation of a well-ordered p(2 × 2) overlayer of atomic nitrogen on the Pt(1 1 1) surface and its reaction with hydrogen were characterized with reflection absorption infrared spectroscopy (RAIRS), temperature programmed desorption (TPD), low energy electron diffraction (LEED), Auger electron spectroscopy (AES), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The p(2 × 2)-N overlayer is formed by exposure of ammonia to a surface at 85 K that is covered with 0.44 monolayer (ML) of molecular oxygen and then heating to 400 K. The reaction between ammonia and oxygen produces water, which desorbs below 400 K. The only desorption product observed above 400 K is molecular nitrogen, which has a peak desorption temperature of 453 K. The absence of oxygen after the 400 K anneal is confirmed with AES. Although atomic nitrogen can also be produced on the surface through the reaction of ammonia with an atomic, rather than molecular, oxygen overlayer at a saturation coverage of 0.25 ML, the yield of surface nitrogen is significantly less, as indicated by the N₂ TPD peak area. Atomic nitrogen readily reacts with hydrogen to produce the NH species, which is characterized with RAIRS by an intense and narrow (FWHM ∼ 4 cm⁻¹) peak at 3322 cm⁻¹. The areas of the H₂ TPD peak associated with NH dissociation and the XPS N 1s peak associated with the NH species indicate that not all of the surface N atoms can be converted to NH by the methods used here.     

Characterization of oxygen,carbon, and sulfur adlayers on W(211)

Adlayers of oxygen, carbon, and sulfur on W(211) have been characterized by LEED, AES, TPD, and CO adsorption. Oxygen initially adsorbs on the W(211) surface forming p(2 × 1)O and p(1 × 1)O structures. Atomic oxygen is the only desorption product from these surfaces. This initial adsorption selectively inhibits CO dissociation in the CO(β₁) state. Increased oxidation leads to a p(1 × 1)O structure which totally inhibits CO dissociation. Volatile metal oxides desorb from the p(1 × 1)O surface at 1850 K. Oxidation of W(211) at 1200 K leads to reconstruction of the surface and formation of p(1 × n)O LEED patterns, 3 ? n ? 7. The reconstructed surface also inhibits CO dissociation and volatile metal oxides are observed to desorb at 1700 K, as well as at 1850 K. Carburization of the W(211) surface below 1000 K produced no ordered structures. Above 1000 K carburization produces a c(6 × 4)C which is suggested to result from a hexagonal tungsten carbide overlayer. CO dissociation is inhibited on the W(211)?c(6×4)C surface. Sulfur initially orders into a c(2 × 2)S structure on W(211). Increased coverage leads to a c(2×6)S structure and then a complex structure. Adsorbed sulfur reduces CO dissociation on W(211), but even at the highest sulfur coverages CO dissociation was observed. Sulfur was found to desorb as atomic S at 1850 K for sulfur coverages less than $\text{7}\text{6}$ monolayers. At higher sulfur coverages the dimer, S₂, was observed to desorb at 1700 K in addition to atomic sulfur desorption.     

The structure and stability of surface platinum oxide and of oxides of other noble metals

The formation and stability of surface layers of platinum oxides in platinum single crystals has been studied in ultrahigh vacuum. Low energy electron diffraction (LEED) was used to identify the ordered structures that formed on the surface of Pt(111), Pt(332), and Pt(110). It appears that these structures can be related to hexagonal planes of PtO₂. The cleanliness of the surface was monitored by Auger electron spectroscopy (AES). The presence of impurities like Ca and Si must be avoided as they oxidize preferentially to the Pt. It is shown that the Pt oxide layers are stabilized by the very slow kinetics of oxygen diffusion to the surface which is responsible for the observed long life of the oxide layers under most catalytic reactions that are carried out at temperatures below 500°C. The stability of other oxides of noble metals that have been observed in UHV studies is also reviewed.     

Helium scattering and work function investigation of co adsorption on Pt(111) and vicinal surfaces

CO adsorption on Pt(111) and vicinal Pt(111) surfaces has been studied by means of work function variation and He scattering measurements. AES and LEED were used mainly for correlations with other work. Special attention has been paid to the low coverage regime (θ_co < 0.1) with emphasis on surface structural dependencies. The minimum of the work function versus CO exposure curve occurs at a coverage less than 11% on “kink-free” surfaces. This is much lower than the hitherto commonly accepted value of 33%, and does not relate to any observed LEED superstructure. The value of Δφ_min depends strongly on the surface structure. For an “ideal” Pt(111) surface with a step density less than 10^?3 at a temperature of 300 K, Δφ_min = ?240 meV. The scattering cross section Σ of CO adsorbed on Pt(111) for 63 meV He is typically > 250 Ų, i.e. much larger than expected from the Van der Waals radii of He and CO. For two nominal Pt(111) surfaces with step densities of 10^?2 and less than 10^?3, respectively, the measured Σ values varied by a factor of three. This can be explained by preferential CO occupation of defect sites, which are already not “seen” by thermal helium. By comparing results on a stepped (997) and a kinked (12 11 9) Pt surface with similar defect densities, the kinks are proven to play a decisive role. They probably form saddles in the recently proposed activation barrier for migration between terrace and step sites.     

Formation of interface and surface oxides on supported Pd nanoparticles

We have quantitatively studied the interaction between oxygen and an Fe₃O₄-supported Pd model catalyst by molecular beam (MB) methods, time resolved IR reflection absorption spectroscopy (TR-IRAS) and photoelectron spectroscopy (PES) using synchrotron radiation. The well-shaped Pd particles were prepared in situ by metal evaporation and growth under ultrahigh vacuum (UHV) conditions on a well-ordered Fe₃O₄ film on Pt(1 1 1).It is found that for oxidation temperatures up to 450 K oxygen predominantly chemisorbs on metallic Pd whereas at 500 K and above (∼10⁻⁶ mbar effective oxygen pressure) large amounts of Pd oxide are formed. These Pd oxide species preferentially form a thin layer at the particle/support interface, stabilized by the iron-oxide support. Their formation and reduction is fully reversible. Upon decomposition, oxygen is released which migrates back onto the metallic part of the Pd surface. In consequence, the Pd interface oxide layer acts as an oxygen reservoir, the capacity of which by far exceeds the amount of chemisorbed oxygen on the metallic surface.Additionally, Pd surface oxides can also be formed at temperatures above 500 K. The extent of surface oxide formation critically depends on the oxidation temperature. This effect is addressed to different onset temperatures for oxidation of the particle facets and sites. It is shown that the presence of Pd surface oxides sensitively modifies the adsorption and reaction properties of the model catalyst, i.e. by lowering the CO adsorption energy and CO oxidation probability. Still, a complete reduction of the Pd surface oxides can be obtained by extended CO exposure, fully reestablishing the metallic Pd surface.     

Oxygen plasma activation of Cr(CO)6 on α-Fe2O3(0001)

The chemistry of Cr(CO)₆ on the Fe₃O₄(111) surface termination of α-Fe₂O₃(0001) was explored using temperature programmed desorption (TPD), Auger electron spectroscopy (AES), static secondary ion mass spectrometry (SSIMS) and low energy electron diffraction (LEED) both with and without activation from an oxygen plasma source. No thermal decomposition of Cr(CO)₆ was detected on the surface in the absence of O₂ plasma treatment, with first layer molecules desorbing in TPD at 215 K from a close-packed overlayer. The interaction of first layer Cr(CO)₆ with the Fe₃O₄(111)-termination was weak, desorbing only ～ 30 K above the leading edge of the multilayer state. Activation of multilayer coverages of Cr(CO)₆ with the O₂ plasma source at 100 K resulted in complete conversion of the outer Cr(CO)₆ layers, presumably to a disordered Cr oxide film, with Cr(CO)₆ molecules near the surface left unaffected. Absence of CO or CO₂ desorption states suggests that all carbonyl ligands are liberated for each Cr(CO)₆ molecule activated by the plasma. AES and SSIMS both show that O₂ plasma activation of Cr(CO)₆ results in a carbon-free surface (after desorption of unreacted Cr(CO)₆). LEED, however, shows that the Cr oxide film was disordered at 600 K and likely O-terminated based on subsequent water TPD. Attempts to order the film at temperatures above 650 K resulted in dissolution of Cr into the α-Fe₂O₃(0001) crystal based on SSIMS, an observation linked to the Fe₃O₄(111) termination of the surface and not to the properties of α-Cr₂O₃/α-Fe₂O₃ corundum interface. Nevertheless, this study shows that O₂ plasma activation of Cr(CO)₆ is an effective means of depositing Cr oxide films on surfaces without accompanying carbon contamination.     

CO adsorption and dissociation on iron oxide supported Pt particles

We studied CO adsorption on Pt particles deposited on well-ordered Fe₃O₄(1 1 1) thin films grown on Pt(1 1 1) by temperature programmed desorption (TPD). A highly stepped Pt(1 1 1) surface produced by ion sputtering and annealing at 600 K was studied for comparison. Structural characterization was performed by scanning tunneling microscopy and Auger electron spectroscopy. The TPD spectra revealed that in addition to the desorption peaks at ∼400 and 480 K, assigned to CO adsorbed on Pt(1 1 1) facets and low-coordination sites respectively, the Pt nanoparticles annealed at 600 K exhibit a desorption state at ∼270 K. This state is assigned to initial stages of strong metal support interaction resulting in partial Fe-Pt intermixing. On both Pt/Fe₃O₄(1 1 1) and stepped Pt(1 1 1) surfaces CO is found to dissociate at 500 K. The results suggest that CO dissociation and carbon accumulation occur on the low-coordinated Pt sites.     

Oxidation of Pt(1 0 0)-hex-R0.7° by gas-phase oxygen atoms

We utilized temperature programmed desorption (TPD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), electron energy loss spectroscopy (ELS), and low energy electron diffraction (LEED) to investigate the oxidation of Pt(1 0 0)-hex-R0.7° at 450 K. Using an oxygen atom beam, we generated atomic oxygen coverages as high as 3.6 ML (monolayers) on Pt(1 0 0) in ultrahigh vacuum (UHV), almost 6 times the maximum coverage obtainable by dissociatively adsorbing O₂. The results show that oxidation occurs through the development of several chemisorbed phases prior to oxide growth above about 1 ML. A weakly bound oxygen state that populates as the coverage increases from approximately 0.50 ML to 1 ML appears to serve as a necessary precursor to Pt oxide growth. We find that increasing the coverage above about 1 ML causes Pt oxide particle growth and significant surface disordering. Decomposition of the Pt oxide particles produces explosive O₂ desorption characterized by a shift of the primary TPD feature to higher temperatures and a dramatic increase in the maximum desorption rate with increasing coverage. Based on thermodynamic considerations, we show that the thermal stability of the surface Pt oxide on Pt single crystal surfaces significantly exceeds that of bulk PtO₂. Furthermore, we attribute the high stability and the acceleratory decomposition rates of the surface oxide to large kinetic barriers that must be overcome during oxide formation and decomposition. Lastly, we present evidence that structurally similar oxides develop on both Pt(1 1 1) and Pt(1 0 0), therefore concluding that the properties of the surface Pt oxide are largely insensitive to the initial structure of the Pt single crystal surface.     

Photon-induced chemical vapor deposition of molybdenum on Pt(1 1 1)

Temperature-programmed desorption (TPD) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) have been employed to study the adsorption and photon-induced decomposition of Mo(CO)₆. Mo(CO)₆ adsorbs molecularly on a Pt(1 1 1) surface with weak interaction at 100 K and desorbs intact at 210 K without undergoing thermal decomposition. Adsorbed Mo(CO)₆ undergoes decarbonylation to form surface Mo(CO)_x (x ? 5) under irradiation of ultraviolet light. The Mo(CO)_x species can release further CO ligands to form Mo adatoms with CO desorption at 285 K. In addition, a fraction of the released CO ligands transfers onto the Pt surface and subsequently desorbs at 350-550 K. The resulting Mo layer deposited on the Pt surface is nearly free of contamination by C and O. The deposited Mo adatoms can diffuse into the bulk Pt at temperatures above 1070 K.     

Adsorption and decomposition of γ-butyrolactone on Pd(1 1 1) and Pt(1 1 1)

The adsorption and thermal chemistry of γ-butyrolactone (GBL) on the (1 1 1) surface of Pd and Pt has been investigated using a combination of high resolution electron energy loss spectroscopy (HREELS) and temperature programmed desorption (TPD). HREELS results indicate that GBL adsorbs at 160 K on both surfaces through its oxygenate functionality. On Pd(1 1 1), adsorbed GBL undergoes ring-opening and decarbonylation by 273 K to produce adsorbed CO and surface hydrocarbon species. On Pt(1 1 1), very little dissociation is observed using HREELS, with almost all of the GBL simply desorbing. TPD results are consistent with decarbonylation and subsequent dehydrogenation reactions on Pd(1 1 1), although small amounts of CO₂ are also detected. TPD results from Pt(1 1 1) indicate that a small proportion of adsorbed GBL (perhaps on defect sites) does undergo ring-opening to produce CO, CO₂, and H₂. These results suggest that the primary dissociation pathway for GBL on Pd(1 1 1) is through O-C scission at the carbonyl position. Through comparisons with previously published studies of cyclic oxygenates, these results also demonstrate how ring strain and functionality affect the ring-opening rate and mechanism.