Thermal desorption spectroscopy of condensed lead films on {100} GaAs surfaces

The desorption of Pb from MBE-grown {100} GaAs surfaces has been investigated using modulated-beam mass spectrometry, isothermal desorption rate measurements and temperature programmed thermal desorption spectroscopy. The results are in general agreement with a model in which desorption occurs from a disperse phase which is in equilibrium with adsorbate islands. From the independence of the activation energy of desorption on coverage from <10^–3 s monolayers to several tens of monolayers, single atom desorption is the probable rate limiting step. An important conclusion is that it is not possible to perform a unique analysis of temperature programmed desorption data from condensed films without prior knowledge of the dependence of the desorption activation energy on coverage.     

Fractional and zero order desorption kinetics of adsorbed monolayers: The role of attractive lateral interactions in the Hg/W(100) system

We demonstrate that fractional and zero order desorption kinetics can result from a first order desorption mechanism with an activation energy which is a function of coverage. The changing activation energy is calculated by applying the quasi-chemical approximation to attractive lateral pairwise interactions between adsorbate species. The procedure is shown to give good agreement with the zero order kinetics found for the Hg/W(100) system using the same parameters as those employed to describe the equilibrium adsorption behaviour of the same system.     

Analysis of temperature-programmed desorption spectra for NaY + butene-1 system

The curve fitting method for analyzing temperature-programmed desorption spectra has been developed. The method was applied to butene-1 desorption from the NaY zeolite and found to be useful for determining the surface coverage dependence of the apparent activation energy of desorption as well as the pre-exponential factor.     

Temperature programmed desorption studies of CO on CdTe(110)

The thermal desorption of CO from the CdTe(110) surface was studied. The initial rate of desorption exhibits zero order kinetics with an activation energy of 2.8 kval/mol at low surface coverage rising to 4.4 kcal/mol at high surface coverage. The results may be explained in terms of the mechanism of island formation on the semiconductor surface.     

H2 and CO chemisorption on polycrystalline titanium studied by flash desorption mass spectrometry

We have used flash desorption mass spectroscopy to study the adsorption and desorption of H₂ and CO from clean titanium at room temperature. CO flash desorption occurs predominantly from a low temperature state whose binding energy is 20.3 kcal/mole. H₂ flash desorption is complex. Only one peak is observed; it is broader than flash desorption spectra normally corresponding to first or second order kinetics. The shift in the peak temperature to lower values with increasing coverage has been analysed using the isothermal desorption rate technique. The apparent order of H₂ desorption is 1.5 and is independent of temperature from 888 to 1077 K. The activation energy is 21 kcal/mole. These results will be discussed in terms of absorption of H₂ into titanium and thermal decomposition of a titanium hydride compound.     

Isothermal desorption of hydrogen from polycrystalline diamond films

The kinetics of isothermal H₂ desorption from polycrystalline diamond are studied in real time. The surface H coverage (θ_H) is measured by mass analyzing the recoiled H₊ ion signal during the desorption. We find that the H₂ desorption is 1st order in θ_H with an activation energy of 69 ± 6 kcal/mol and a prefactor of 10^{10.5 ± 0.9} s⁻¹. We suggest that formation of a C---C π-bond on the clean surface plays a key role in H₂ desorption from diamond, a view consistent with previous theoretical calculations of H₂ desorption from diamond.     

The effect of surface reconstruction on desorption: H/Mo(100)

We have measured adsorption isobars for the system H/Mo(100) and from them we have extracted the energy of activation, E_d, and the frequency factor, ν, as functions of coverage from 0 to 2 ML along the isobar. This method allows the independent determination of each of these quantities. We have also obtained estimates of the partial molar entropy of adsorption as a function of coverage. We observe large changes in all of these quantities as functions of coverage. The strong correlation between the observed changes in these parameters and the structural phase transitions as observed by LEED and IR lead to the conclusion that surface reconstruction has a profound influence on the kinetics of desorption.     

Methods for calculating the desorption rate of molecules from a surface at non-zero coverage: Water on MgO(0 0 1)

We present calculations of the desorption rate of water molecules from MgO(0 0 1) at a range of coverages θ and temperatures T. Our aim is to demonstrate that this can be done without making uncontrollable statistical mechanical approximations, and we achieve this by using the potential of mean force method reported previously. As in our earlier work on desorption of isolated molecules, we use a classical interaction model. We find that correlations between adsorbed molecules greatly increase the simulation time needed to obtain good statistical accuracy, compared with the isolated molecule. The activation energy for desorption varies significantly with coverage. The calculations also yield the chemical potential of adsorbed molecules as a function of θ and T, from which we can deduce the critical temperature and coverage for phase separation of adsorbed molecules.     

Europium adsorption on a tungsten surface with various degrees of oxidation

The kinetics of europium adsorption on a W(100) face with various degrees of oxidation were studied by thermal desorption and Auger electron spectroscopy. The spectrum of Eu atoms desorbed thermally from the W(100) face consists of three successively filling desorption phases whose desorption activation energy decreases from 3 to 2.1 eV with an increase in the surface coverage. The thermodesorption spectrum of Eu atoms from the W(100) face coated with a monatomic oxygen film contains five successively forming desorption phases, with the desorption activation energy increasing to 4 eV for the high-temperature phase. The oxidized W is reduced by europium, and the desorption of the W oxides is replaced by that of EuO. After a monolayer film has formed, the Eu film adsorbed on tungsten starts to grow in the form of three-dimensional crystallites. As the degree of W oxidation increases, the Eu film becomes less nonuniform, until a solid Eu film starts to grow on bulk W oxides and completely screens the tungsten Auger signal.     

Desorption rates and mechanisms for dissociatively chemisorbed molecules

The desorption kinetics of dissociatively chemisorbed diatomic molecules are examined from a kinetic-modeling point of view. A comparison is made between a one-step process, resulting in the usual second-order kinetics, and a two-step process which takes into account explicity recombination of atoms and subsequent desorption of molecules. The kinetics from the two-step mechanism are found to be equivalent to second-order desorption with a coverage-dependent activation energy which, in many cases, is a linear function of coverage. The two-step process leads to second-order kinetics with a constant activation energy only for special values of the model rate parameters, or if chemisorption is activated. The steady onate approximation for the intermediate in the two-step process is often adequate, but the transient period during which a steady state is reached also contains important kinetic information. The implications of these results for desorption kinetics and molecular beam reaction experiments are discussed. Work performed under the auspices of the Office of Basic Energy Sciences of the Department of Energy     

Adsorption of carbon monoxide on the molybdenum (100) surface

The interaction of CO with Mo(100) has been studied by means of thermal desorption spectrometry, work function measurements and electron stimulated desorption, in conjunction with LEED and AES. Results have been obtained for adsorption at room temperature and at temperatures down to 200 K. The study confirms previous results, showing that the β-states formed at room temperature are atomic. The thermal desorption data for the β-states are analyzed to give directly the desorption activation energy as a function of coverage. This energy is found to vary smoothly from an initial value of 3.7 to a final value of 2.9 eV molecule, indicating an average repulsive interaction between a pair of adjacent adatoms of 0.2 eV. The data at low temperature indicate that a molecular state, virgin-CO, is produced in competition with β-CO and probably one other state, from a common precursor. The step leading to virgin-CO has both a low activation energy and a low pre-exponential factor, suggesting that a reorientation of the molecule is required.     

A method for assessing the coverage dependence of kinetic parameters: Application to carbon monoxide desorption from iridium (110)

A method for analyzing thermal desorption mass spectra has been developed for determining the coverage dependence of the pre-exponential factor and the desorption energy in the Arrhenius equation for a one-step desorption process. The method, which involves variable heating schedules, is applicable to spectra in which several features appear. However, if the desorption process involves multiple steps, or if substantial desorption from multiple sites occurs for any one coverage, this method cannot be used. The method is applied to CO desorption from the (110) surface of Ir. Three features can be resolved in the desorption spectrum. Both the preexponential factor and the desorption energy vary strongly with coverage, and a compensation effect occurs.     

Reentrant mechanism for associative desorption: H2/Pt(110)-(1×2)

Calculations of the desorption of hydrogen from Pt(110)-(1×2), a surface used to model nanoparticle edge sites, show the activation energy varying strongly with hydrogen coverage, from 0.8 to 0.3?eV. The predicted temperature programed desorption spectra agree well with experiments, but the formation of the hydrogen molecules occurs only at two types of sites on the surface even though three peaks are observed. The lowest and highest temperature peaks result from desorption from the same strong binding sites at the ridge, while desorption from the weakest binding trough sites is insignificant.     

The binding energy of CO on clean and sulfur covered platinum surfaces

The desorption of CO from clean Pt(111) and (100), and from the same surfaces with partial overlayers of sulfur, was studied by Thermal Desorption Spectroscopy. The method of desorption rate isotherms was employed for data analysis. The desorption of CO from the (111) surface and both surfaces with ordered sulfur overlayers can be described as a first order process with coverage dependent activation energies. The desorption of CO from the clean Pt(100) surface is complicated by the dynamic interaction of the molecule with a thermally activated change of platinum surface structure. On both platinum faces surface sulfur decreases the initial binding energy of CO. As the CO concentration increases, its binding energy decreases very rapidly. This is due to a repulsive interaction which exists between co-adsorbed species.     

Thermal desorption of dysprosium from tungsten microcrystal

Activation energy for thermal desorption of dysprosium from a tungsten microcrystal of about 300 nm diameter was determined by means of the field-emission method. The desorption was detected from the whole W emitter surface in the temperature range 1490-1665 K for dysprosium average coverage θ < 0.06 monolayer. The average activation energy was determined to be 4.09 ± 0.06 eV/atom and the frequency factor to be about 10¹¹ s⁻¹. The energy may mainly concern the desorption from the atomically rough regions of the microcrystal.     

Adsorption of gold on oxidized tungsten

The kinetics of adsorption and desorption of gold atoms from the surface of a thin (<2 nm) oxide film grown on a textured W ribbon with the preferred emergence of the (100) face is studied using termal desorption spectrometry in a wide range of coatings. A single desorption phase is observed in the spectra of termal desorption of Au atoms from oxidized W. The activation energy of desorption of Au atoms from tungsten oxides is lower than the gold sublimation heat (it amounts to E = 3.1 eV for the concentration of adsorbate atoms on the surface corresponding to coverage θ _s = 2.38). The gold film on oxidized tungsten at room temperature grows in the form of 3D islands. The sticking coefficient for gold atoms at T = 300 K is close to unity in the coverage range 0.5 < θ _s < 2.5.     

Effect of the lateral interaction of adsorbed molecules on preexponential factor of the desorption rate constant

The effect of lateral interactions on preexponential factors is discussed in the framework of a lattice-gas model. For weak interactions the dependence of the desorption rate constant on coverage is defined mainly by a smooth variation of activation energy, the preexponential factor changes insignificantly. Strong interactions lead to strong dependences of the preexponential factor on coverage. Some experimental results revealing strong dependency of the preexponential factor on coverage are discussed.     

Adsorption of oxygen on Au(111) by exposure to ozone

Atomic oxygen coverages of up to 1.2 ML may be cleanly adsorbed on the Au(111) surface by exposure to O₃ at 300 K. We have studied the adsorbed oxygen layer by AES, XPS, HREELS, LEED, work function measurements and TPD. A plot of the O(519 eV)/Au(239 eV) AES ratio versus coverage is nearly linear, but a small change in slope occurs at Θ_O=0.9 ML. LEED observations show no ordered superlattice for the oxygen overlayer for any coverage studied. One-dimensional ordering of the adlayer occurs at low coverages, and disordering of the substrate occurs at higher coverages. Adsorption of 1.0 ML of oxygen on Au(111) increases the work function by +0.80 eV, indicating electron transfer from the Au substrate into an oxygen adlayer. The O(1s) peak in XPS has a binding energy of 530.1 eV, showing only a small (0.3 eV) shift to a higher binding energy with increasing oxygen coverage. No shift was detected for the Au 4f_7/2 peak due to adsorption. All oxygen is removed by thermal desorption of O₂ to leave a clean Au(111) surface after heating to 600 K. TPD spectra initially show an O₂ desorption peak at 520 K at low Θ_O, and the peak shifts to higher temperatures for increasing oxygen coverages up to Θ_O=0.22 ML. Above this coverage, the peak shifts very slightly to higher temperatures, resulting in a peak at 550 K at Θ_O=1.2 ML. Analysis of the TPD data indicates that the desorption of O₂ from Au(111) can be described by first-order kinetics with an activation energy for O₂ desorption of 30 kcal mol⁻¹ near saturation coverage. We estimate a value for the Au–O bond dissociation energy D(Au–O) to be 56 kcal mol⁻¹.     

Interaction of silver atoms with iridium and with a two-dimensional graphite film on iridium: Adsorption,desorption, and dissolution

The initial stages in the interaction of silver with the (111)Ir surface and with a two-dimensional graphite film (2D GF) on (111)Ir were studied by high-resolution electron Auger spectroscopy in ultrahigh vacuum. The growth mechanisms of silver films and the desorption fluxes of Ag atoms were determined, and their desorption energies estimated. It was found that the Ag desorption fluxes from a 2D GF on Ir and from a thick silver film on the pure metal are similar and considerably (an order of magnitude) smaller than the sublimation fluxes from bulk silver at the same temperatures. The activation energy for desorption from a submonolayer film varies from 3.2 eV for coverage θ=1 to 3.7 eV at θ ～ 0. It was shown that silver atoms do not penetrate into the substrate bulk throughout the temperature range covered (300–1800 K).     

Oxidation kinetics of thin titanium films grown on tungsten

Growth of thin Ti films on (100)W and the kinetics of their oxidation are studied using thermal-desorption spectroscopy and Auger electron spectroscopy. Titanium films grow nearly layer by layer on the (100)W face at room temperature. The activation energy for desorption of Ti atoms decreases from 5.2 eV for coverage θ=0.1 to 4.9 eV in a multilayer film. Oxidation of a thin (θ=6) titanium film starts with dissolution of oxygen atoms in its bulk to the limiting concentration for a given temperature, after which the film oxidizes to TiO, with the TiO₂ oxide starting to grow when exposure of the film to oxygen is prolonged. The thermal desorption of oxides follows zero-order kinetics and is characterized by desorption activation energies of 5.1 (TiO) and 5.9 eV (TiO₂).