The adsorption of water on clean and oxygen covered Cu(110)

The water adsorption on clean and oxygen precovered Cu(110) surfaces is studied by means of UPS, LEED, work function measurements and ELS. At 90 K on the clean surface molecular water adsorption is indicated by UPS. The H₂O molecules are bonded at the oxygen end and the H-O-H angle is increased as compared with the free molecule. In the temperature range between 90 and 300 K distorted H₂O molecules and adsorbed hydroxyl species (OH) are detected, which are desorbed at room temperature. On an oxygen covered surface hydroxyl groups are formed by dissociation of adsorbed water molecules at a lower temperature than on the clean surface. Multilayers of condensed water are found below 140 K in both cases.     

Interaction of H2O with a clean and oxygen precovered Ni(110) surface studied by XPS

The adsorption and reaction of H₂O on clean and oxygen precovered Ni(110) surfaces was studied by XPS from 100 to 520 K. At low temperature (T<150 K), a multilayer adsorption of H₂O on the clean surface with nearly constant sticking coefficient was observed. The O 1s binding energy shifted with coverage from 533.5 to 534.4 eV. H₂O adsorption on an oxygen precovered Ni(110) surface in the temperature range from 150 to 300 K leads to an O 1s double peak with maxima at 531.0 and 532.6 eV for T=150 K (530.8 and 532.8 eV at 300 K), proposed to be due to hydrogen bonded O_ads… HOH species on the surface. For T>350 K, only one sharp peak at 530.0 eV binding energy was detected, due to a dissociation of H₂O into O_ads and H₂. The s-shaped O 1s intensity-exposure curves are discussed on the basis of an autocatalytic process with a temperature dependent precursor state.     

The adsorption and reaction of H2O on clean and oxygen covered Ag(110)

The adsorption and reaction of water on clean and oxygen covered Ag(110) surfaces has been studied with high resolution electron energy loss (EELS), temperature programmed desorption (TPD), and X-ray photoelectron (XPS) spectroscopy. Non-dissociative adsorption of water was observed on both surfaces at 100 K. The vibrational spectra of these adsorbates at 100 K compared favorably to infrared absorption spectra of ice Ih. Both surfaces exhibited a desorption state at 170 K representative of multilayer H₂O desorption. Desorption states due to hydrogen-bonded and non-hydrogen-bonded water molecules at 200 and 240 K, respectively, were observed from the surface predosed with oxygen. EEL spectra of the 240 K state showed features at 550 and 840 cm^?1 which were assigned to restricted rotations of the adsorbed molecule. The reaction of adsorbed H₂O with pre-adsorbed oxygen to produce adsorbed hydroxyl groups was observed by EELS in the temperature range 205 to 255 K. The adsorbed hydroxyl groups recombined at 320 K to yield both a TPD water peak at 320 K and adsorbed atomic oxygen. XPS results indicated that water reacted completely with adsorbed oxygen to form OH with no residual atomic oxygen. Solvation between hydrogen-bonded H₂O molecules and hydroxyl groups is proposed to account for the results of this work and earlier work showing complete isotopic exchange between H₂¹⁶O_(a) and ¹⁸O_(a).     

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.     

H2O interaction with clean and oxygen precovered Ni(110)

The interaction of water vapour with clean as well as with oxygen precovered Ni(110) surfaces was studied at 150 and 273 K, using UPS, ΔΦ, TDS, and ELS. The He(I) (He(II)) excited UPS indicate a molecular adsorption of H₂O on Ni(110) at 150 K, showing three water-induced peaks at 6.5, 9.5 and 12.2 eV below E_F (6.8, 9.4 and 12.7 eV below E_F). The dramatic decrease of the Ni d-band intensity at higher exposures, as well as the course of the work function change, demonstrates the formation of H₂O multilayers (ice). The observed energy shift of all water-induced UPS peaks relative to the Fermi level (ΔE_max = 1.5 eVat 200 L) with increasing coverage is related to extra-atomic relaxation effects. The activation energies of desorption were estimated as 14.9 and 17.3 kcal/mole. From the ELS measurements we conclude a great sensitivity of H₂O for electron beam induced dissociation. At 273 K water adsorbs on Ni(110) only in the presence of oxygen, with two peaks at 5.7 and 9.3 eV below E_F (He(II)), being interpreted as due to hydroxyl species (OH)^δ? on the surface. A kinetic model for the H₂O adsorption on oxygen precovered Ni(110) surfaces is proposed, and verified by a simple Monte Carlo calculation leading to the same dependence of the maximum amount of adsorbed H₂O on the oxygen precoverage as revealed by work function measurements. On heating, some of the (OH)^δ? recombines and desorbs as H₂O at ? 320 K, leaving behind an oxygen covered Ni surface.     

Theoretical studies on the adsorption and decomposition of H2O on Pd(1 1 1) surface

To provide information about the chemistry of water on Pd surfaces, we performed density functional slab model studies on water adsorption and decomposition at Pd(1 1 1) surface. We located transition states of a series of elementary steps and calculated activation energies and rate constants with and without quantum tunneling effect included. Water was found to weakly bind to the Pd surface. Co-adsorbed species OH and O that are derivable from H₂O stabilize the adsorbed water molecules via formation of hydrogen bonds. On the clean surface, the favorable sites are top and bridge for H₂O and OH, respectively. Calculated kinetic parameters indicate that dehydrogenation of water is unlikely on the clean regular Pd(1 1 1) surface. The barrier for the hydrogen abstraction of H₂O at the OH covered surface is approximately 0.2-0.3 eV higher than the value at the clean surface. Similar trend is computed for the hydroxyl group dissociation at H₂O or O covered surfaces. In contrast, the O-H bond breaking of water on oxygen covered Pd surfaces, H₂O_ad + O_ad → 2OH_ad, is predicted to be likely with a barrier of ∼0.3 eV. The reverse reaction, 2OH_ad → H₂O_ad + O_ad, is also found to be very feasible with a barrier of ∼0.1 eV. These results show that on oxygen-covered surfaces production of hydroxyl species is highly likely, supporting previous experimental findings.     

A periodic density functional theory study of the dehydrogenation of methanol over CuCl(1 1 1) surface

The decomposition of methanol on clean and oxygen-precovered CuCl(1 1 1) surface have been studied with the method of density functional theory-generalized gradient approximation (DFT-GGA) and the periodic slab models. The effects of different methanol coverages up to one monolayer are investigated. The activation of the O-H bond of methanol to form the methoxide intermediate, the activation of the C-H bond to form the hydroxymethyl intermediate and the activation of the C-O bond to form methyl are examined. These intermediates can subsequently react to form methoxide, hydroxymethyl, methyl, formaldehyde, formyl, and finally CO on the surface. The chemisorption energies of CH₃OH, CH₃O, H₂COH, CH₃, H₂CO, HCO, OH and CO at their most favorable adsorption sites are predicted to be −57.9, −235.3, −172.9, −170.5, −67.8, −192.4, −309.5 and −105.7 kJ/mol, respectively. We also confirm that the O-H bond-breaking paths have lower energy barrier, compared to the C-O and C-H bond-breaking paths. However, these reactions need a lower energy barrier when precovered oxygen atoms participate in these reactions.     

Adsorption and decomposition of H2O on a K-covered Pt(111) surface

The adsorption of H₂O on clean and K-covered Pt(111) was investigated by utilizing Auger, X-ray and ultra-violet photoemission spectroscopies. The adsorption on Pt(111) at 100–150 K was purely molecular (ice formation) in agreement with previous work. No dissociation of this adsorbed H₂O was noted on heating to higher temperatures. On the other hand, adsorption of H₂O on Pt(111) + K leads to dissociation and to the formation of OH species which were characterized by a work function increase, an O 1s binding energy of 530.9 eV and UPS peaks at 4.7 and 8.7 eV below the Fermi level. The amount of OH formed was proportional to the K coverage for θ_K > 0.06 whereas no OH could be detected for θ? 0.06. Dissociation of H₂O occurred already at T = 100 K, with a sequential appearance of O 1s peaks at 531 and 533 eV representing OH and adsorbed H₂O, respectively. At room temperature and above only the OH species was observed. Annealing of the surface covered with coadsorbed K/OH indicated the high stability of this OH species which could be detected spectroscopically up to 570 K. The adsorption energy of H₂O coadsorbed with K and OH on Pt(111) is increased relative to that of H₂O on Pt. The work function due to this adsorbed H₂O increases whereas it decreases for H₂O on Pt(111). The energy shifts of valence and O1s core levels of H₂O on Pt + K as deduced from a comparison of gas phase and adsorbate spectra are 2.8–4.2 eV compared to ≈ 1.3–2.3 eV for H₂O on Pt (111). This increased relaxation energy shift suggests a charge transfer screening process for H₂O on Pt + K possibly involving the unoccupied 4a₁ orbital of H₂O. The occurrence of this mode of screening would be consistent with the higher adsorption energy of H₂O on Pt + K and with its high propensity to dissociate into OH and H.     

Adsorption of ethylene on clean and oxygen precovered Cu(110) surfaces

UV photoemission spectroscopy (UPS) with He I and He II radiation is used to study the interaction of C₂H₄ with clean and oxygen precovered Cu(110) surfaces at 90 K. On the clean surface only-bonding of the C₂H₄ molecules is observed whereas preadsorbed oxygen causes a second molecular orbital to be involved in the chemisorption. This result is consistent with the differing behaviour of the work function change during thermal desorption of C₂H₄.     

Adsorption of H2O on Al(111)

The adsorption of H₂O on Al(111) has been studied by ESDIAD (electron stimulated desorption ion angular distributions), LEED (low energy electron diffraction), AES (Auger electron spectroscopy) and thermal desorption in the temperature range 80–700 K. At 80 K, H₂O is adsorbed predominantly in molecular form, and the ESDIAD patterns indicate that bonding occurs through the O atom, with the molecular axis tilted away from the surface normal. Some of the H₂O adsorbed at 80 K on clean Al(111) can be desorbed in molecular form, but a considerable fraction dissociates upon heating into OH_ads and hydrogen, which leaves the surface as H₂. Following adsorption of H₂O onto oxygen-precovered Al(111), additional OH_ads is formed upon heating (perhaps via a hydrogen abstraction reaction), and H₂ desorbs at temperatures considerably higher than that seen for H₂O on clean Al(111). The general behavior of H₂O adsorption on clean and oxygen-precovered Al(111) (θ_O ? monolayer) is rather similar at low temperature, but much higher reactivity for dissociative adsorption of H₂O to form OH _adsis noted on the oxygen-dosed surface around room temperature.     

Reactivity of carbon dioxide at nickel (110)

Adsorption and reactivity of carbon dioxide at the clean and oxygen precovered Ni(110) surface has been studied by means of EELS and LEED. On the clean surface two different types of CO₂ molecules have been observed by EELS at 135 K, one being the undisturbed linear configuration. With increasing temperature the linear molecule changes into a different species which precedes dissociation at 220 K into CO and O. EELS and LEED data of the intermediate species support the assumption that it is a bent CO⁻₂ anion adsorbed in C_2v symmetry with twofold oxygen coordination to the surface. Oxygen preadsorption stabilizes the linear CO₂ molecule up to higher temperatures which does not convert into a bent species in this case. Instead, a reaction product of CO₂ and O is found and interpreted as a carbonate species.     

Surface chemistry of NO and NO2 on the Pt(1 1 0)-(1 × 2) surface: A comparative study

The surface chemistry of NO and NO₂ on clean and oxygen-precovered Pt(1 1 0)-(1 × 2) surfaces were investigated by means of high resolution electron energy loss spectroscopy (HREELS), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and thermal desorption spectroscopy (TDS). At room temperature, NO molecularly adsorbs on Pt(1 1 0), forming linear NO(a) and bridged NO(a). Coverage-dependent repulsive interactions within NO(a) drive the reversible transformation between linear and bridged NO(a). Some NO(a) decomposes upon heating, producing both N₂ and N₂O. For NO adsorption on the oxygen-precovered surface, repulsive interactions exist between precovered oxygen adatoms and NO(a), resulting in more NO(a) desorbing from the surface in the form of linear NO(a). Bridged NO(a) experiences stronger repulsive interactions with precovered oxygen than linear NO(a). The desorption activation energy of bridged NO(a) from oxygen-precovered Pt(1 1 0) is lower than that from clean Pt(1 1 0), but the desorption activation energy of linear NO(a) is not affected by the precovered oxygen. NO₂ decomposes on Pt(1 1 0)-(1 × 2) surface at room temperature. The resulted NO(a) (both linear NO(a) and bridged NO(a)) and O(a) repulsively interact each other. Comparing with NO/Pt(1 1 0), more NO(a) desorbs from NO₂/Pt(1 1 0) as linear NO(a), and both linear NO(a) and bridged NO(a) exhibit lower desorption activation energies. The reaction pathways of NO(a) on Pt(1 1 0), desorption or decomposition, are affected by their repulsive interactions with coexisting oxygen adatoms.     

A photoelectron spectroscopic investigation of the interaction between H2O and oxygen on Ag(110)

The adsorption and reaction of H₂O with adsorbed oxygen atoms on Ag(110) was examined by UPS. In agreement with previous EELS results, H₂O formed multilayers of ice upon adsorption at 140 K. The ice layers could be easily distinguished from monolayer coverages of chemisorbed H₂O (present above 160 K) by UPS. The ice layers produced (1) strong attenuation of the emission from the Ag d-bands, (2) a nearly 2 eV shift of H₂O valence levels to higher binding energy and (3) strong attenuation of emission from the H₂O 3a₁ orbital. H₂O was observed to react stoichiometrically with O(a) above 250 K to produce a pure layer of adsorbed hydroxyl species. The UPS spectra for these species exhibited features at ?5.8 and ?8.7 eV, as well as strong features above the d-bands. These spectra were compared with those for OH(a) on other surfaces, and the difficulties of identifying OH by UPS due to contamination by excess H₂O are discussed.     

SIMS,EID and flash-filament investigation of O2, H2, (O2 + H2) and H2O interaction with vanadium

Comparative investigations of secondary ion emission, electron induced ion emission and flash filament signals from polycrystalline vanadium surfaces exposed to well-defined O₂, H₂, H₂O and (O₂ + H₂) doses (<500 L) have been carried out. The vanadium target could be heated and bombarded by either electrons (300 eV) or ions (3 keV) under ultra high vacuum conditions (<10^?10 Torr). The investigations were carried out with a computer controlled ultra high vacuum mass spectrometer. The experimental results establish exact reproducible spectra of well defined surface layers. They give detailed insight into the reactions between H₂, O₂ H₂O and vanadium, and some interactions between these species. They further indicate the importance of bulk and surface diffusion as well as the influence of the probing ion and electron bombardment. A clear distinction between bulk oxygen, surface oxides, and adsorbed oxygen for the vanadium-oxygen interaction at room temperature could be established. For the interaction of hydrogen with clean and oxygen covered vanadium surfaces the formation of adsorbed hydrogen, bulk solution of hydrogen, and the formation of OH groups and H₂O could be demonstrated. A detection limit below 10^?5 of one single monolayer for metal bonded hydrogen could be established.     

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.     

SERS and XPS observation of the adsorption behavior of NO and NO2 on a silver powder surface

The influence of H₂O on the adsorption behavior of NO or NO₂ on a silver powder surface was studied by SERS and XPS at room temperature. Water vapor was found to be responsible for the adsorption of NO on the silver powder surface. When surface species such as Ag₂O are present on the surface, some of the NO₂ molecules are adsorbed on the surface species to produce NO^-₃, whereas NO molecules are adsorbed on a different site to produce NO^-₂.     

A first-principles study on the adsorption behaviour of methanol and ethanol over C59B heterofullerene

In the present study, the adsorption behaviour of methanol (CH₃OH) and ethanol (C₂H₅OH) molecules over heterofullerene C₅₉B surface is studied by density functional theory calculations. This heterofullerene is obtained from C₆₀ by substituting a carbon atom with a boron atom and relaxing self-consistently the structure to the local minimum. The adsorption of CH₃OH and C₂H₅OH on the C₅₉B is exothermic and the relaxed geometries are stable. The CH₃OH and C₂H₅OH adsorption can also induce a change in the highest occupied molecular orbital and the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital energy gap of the nanocage. The dehydrogenation pathways of CH₃OH and C₂H₅OH via O–H and C–H bonds scission are also examined. The results indicate that O–H bond scission is the most favourable pathway on the C₅₉B surface.     

Two-dimensional condensation of water and alcohols on NaF

On the surface of NaF the adsorption isotherms of H₂O, D₂O, CH₃OH, C₃H₃OH and 1-C₃H₇OH as well as the infrared spectra of H₃O, D₂O, dilute HDO, CH₃OH and CH₃OD were measured. The adsorption temperatures of H₃O (253–308 K) were within the phase transition region where two phases of low and high density coexist, while those of CH₃OH, C₂H₅OH and 1-C₃H₃OH were yet within a super-critical region. The entropy of the 2D condensed H₂O on NaF was found to be 14.0 cal K^?1 mol^?1, which suggests that the condensed phase of water on NaF is liquid-like. The OD stretching band of dilute HDO in the 2D condensed water gives a maximum adsorption at ca. 2530 cm^?1 with a half width of ca. 150 cm^?1, being in good agreement with that in liquid water. Comparison of the integrated absorbance of the D₂O bending mode with that of the OD stretching mode suggests that the cluster size of the 2D condensed water on NaF decreases with increasing temperature. The 2D critical temperature and the occupied areas of these adsorbates enable us to conclude that the compatibility of the molecular size with the surface lattice is not important in the occurrence of the 2D condensation of the hydrogen-bonding molecules on NaF and that adsorbed molecules are randomly oriented on the surface to the extent similar to that in 3D liquid state.     

Interaction of water molecules with bare and deuterated polycrystalline diamond surface studied by high resolution electron energy loss and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopies

In this work we study the interaction of water molecules with deuterated and bare polycrystalline diamond surfaces upon exposure to water vapor by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and high resolution electron energy loss spectroscopy (HR-EELS). To distinguish the molecular origin of hydrogen bonds (i.e. C–H, O–H, C–O–H, etc.) formed on the diamond surface upon interaction with the water molecules, deuterated and hydrogenated gases were used in our experiments. Diamond films were deposited from a deuterated gas mixture to induce C(di)-D surface terminations. Water adsorption on bare diamond surface gives rise to the appearance of well defined and pronounced C–H and C–OH vibrational HR-EELS peaks and an intense O (1s) XPS peak. These chemically adsorbed water fragments survive 300 °C anneal temperature under ultra-high vacuum conditions. Annealing at 600 °C of the water exposed bare diamond surface results in disappearance of the C–OH vibrational modes alongside with a pronounced reduction of the C–H vibrational modes, whilst only upon annealing to ~ 800 °C the O (1s) XPS peak decreased substantially in intensity. We associate these effects with dissociative adsorption of the water molecules on the bare diamond surfaces.Water exposure onto a deuterated surface, on the other hand, does not result in the appearance of the C–OH vibrational peaks but only to an increase of the C–H vibrational HR-EELS mode along side with the appearance of a weaker XPS O (1) peak, as compared to the same experiment, performed on the bare surface. 300 °C anneal significantly diminishes surface oxygen concentration, as monitored by XPS. We associate these results with H₂O decomposition reactions and also with molecular adsorption on deuterated diamond surfaces. Annealing of the water exposed deuterated diamond surface, results in a pronounced decrease and disappearance of the O (1s) XPS peak at a temperature of ~ 800 °C.     

An XPS study of formaldehyde and related molecules adsorbed on the surface of a tungsten (100) single crystal

X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy has been used to study the adsorption and catalytic decomposition of formaldehyde on a W(100) single crystal. Comparison with the O(1s) spectra of CO(ads), CO₂(ads) and O(ads) has been carried out in an attempt to understand the surface complexes formed from H₂CO. It has been shown that H₂CO dissociates at 100 K upon adsorption up to ca. 1/2 monolayer. Above this coverage, condensation of undissociated H₂CO occurs. A surface complex leading to the liberation of CO₂ from the formaldehyde layer has been detected by XPS. However, no complex uniquely related to an intermediate which yields a small quantity of CH₄ has been detected by XPS.