Low-energy electron-diffraction analysis of the Rh(110)-(2 × 1)-O phase

A quantitative low-energy electron-diffraction (LEED) analysis of the Rh(110)-(2 × 1)pg-O structure revealed a model which consists of O zigzag chains with oxygen located in threefold-coordinated sites on an otherwise undistorted Rh(110) surface. Due to the strong interaction of oxygen with Rh the contraction of the first Rh interlayer spacing (observed for the clean surface) is globally removed. LEED investigations on the (2 × 2)pg-O structure prove the presence of a missing-row reconstruction of the Rh substrate.     

The co-adsorption of oxygen and hydrogen on Rh(111)

The co-adsorption of oxygen and hydrogen on Rh(111) at temperatures below 140 K has been studied by thermal desorption mass spectrometry, Auger electron spectroscopy, and lowenergy electron diffraction. The co-adsorption phenomena observed were dependent upon the sequence of adsorption in preparing the co-adsorbed overlayer. It has been found that oxygen extensively blocks sites for subsequent hydrogen adsorption and that the interaction splits the hydrogen thermal desorption into two states. The capacity of the oxygenated Rh(111) surface for hydrogen adsorption is very sensitive to the structure of the oxygen overlayer, with a disordered oxygen layer exhibiting the lowest capacity for hydrogen chemisorption. Studies with hydrogen pre-adsorption indicate that a hydrogen layer suppresses completely the formation of ordered oxygen superstructures as well as O₂ desorption above 800 K. This occurs with only a 20% reduction in total oxygen coverage as measured by Auger spectroscopy.     

Oxygen induced facet formation on Rh(2 1 0) surface

Oxygen induced nanometer-scale faceting of the atomically rough Rh(2 1 0) surface has been studied using Auger electron spectroscopy (AES), low energy electron diffraction (LEED), and scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). The Rh(2 1 0) surface completely covered with nanometer-scale facets when annealed at ≥550 K in the presence of oxygen. LEED studies reveal that the pyramidal faceted surface is characterized by three-sided nanoscale pyramids exposing (7 3 1), (7 3 −1) and (1 1 0) faces. A clean faceted surface was prepared through the use of low temperature surface cleaning method using the reaction with H₂ while preserving (“freezing”) the pyramidal facet structure. The resulting clean faceted surface remains stable for T ∼ 600 K and for higher temperatures; the faceted surface irreversibly relaxes to the planar surface. STM measurements confirms the formation of nanopyramids with average pyramid size ranging from 12 to 21 nm depending upon the annealing temperature. The nanopyramidal faceted Rh surface may be used as a potential template for the growth of metallic nanoclusters and for structure sensitive reactions.     

First-principles-based kinetic Monte Carlo simulation of nitric oxide decomposition over Pt and Rh surfaces under lean-burn conditions

First-principles-based kinetic Monte Carlo simulation was used to track the elementary surface transformations involved in the catalytic decomposition of NO over Pt(100) and Rh(100) surfaces under lean-burn operating conditions. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations were carried out to establish the structure and energetics for all reactants, intermediates and products over Pt(100) and Rh(100). Lateral interactions which arise from neighbouring adsorbates were calculated by examining changes in the binding energies as a function of coverage and different coadsorbed configurations. These data were fitted to a bond order conservation (BOC) model which is subsequently used to establish the effects of coverage within the simulation. The intrinsic activation barriers for all the elementary reaction steps in the proposed mechanism of NO reduction over Pt(100) were calculated by using DFT. These values are corrected for coverage effects by using the parametrized BOC model internally within the simulation. This enables a site-explicit kinetic Monte Carlo simulation that can follow the kinetics of NO decomposition over Pt(100) and Rh(100) in the presence of excess oxygen. The simulations are used here to model various experimental protocols including temperature programmed desorption as well as batch catalytic kinetics. The simulation results for the temperature programmed desorption and decomposition of NO over Pt(100) and Rh(100) under vacuum condition were found to be in very good agreement with experimental results. NO decomposition is strongly tied to the temporal number of sites that remain vacant. Experimental results show that Pt is active in the catalytic reaction of NO into N₂ and NO₂ under lean-burn conditions. The simulated reaction orders for NO and O₂ were found to be +0.9 and ?0.4 at 723?K, respectively. The simulation also indicates that there is no activity over Rh(100) since the surface becomes poisoned by oxygen.     

Site-specific reactivity of oxygen at Cu(110) step defects: an STM study of ammonia dehydrogenation

Defects on surfaces, such as steps, are known to influence catalytic activity considerably, but few microscopic observations have been made of such site-specific reactivity. Using atomic-resolution scanning tunneling microscopy (STM), we have observed the reactivity of oxygen adsorbed in the (2 × 1) structure at step sites on the Cu(110) surface with ammonia. It is found that the reactivity is high at both the top and bottom of a [11¯0] step and at the bottom of a [001] step, whereas almost no reaction occurs at the sites bordering the top of a [001] step. Reaction at the bottom of [001] steps appears to lead to deposition of copper atoms at the step edge.     

Adsorption and desorption of no from Rh{111} and Rh{331} surfaces

The adsorption and desorption chemistry of NO on the clean Rh{111} and Rh{331} single crystal surfaces was followed with SIMS, XPS, and LEED. Results suggest dissociative NO adsorption occurs at step and/or defect sites. At saturation coverage there was ～ 10 times more dissociated species on the Rh{331} surface at 300 K than on the Rh{111} surface. On both surfaces two molecular states of NO_ads have been identified as β₁, and β₂ which possess different chemical reactivity. Under the condition of saturation coverage the β₁ and β₂ states are populated on the Rh{111} surface in a different proportion than on the Rh{331} surface. Further, their population on both surfaces is coverage and temperature dependent. When the sample is heated to desorb the saturation overlayer formed on the Rh{111} and Rh{331} crystal surfaces, approximately 50% of the overlayer is found to desorb below ? 400 K primarily from the β₂ state, molecularly as NO(g). Between 300 and 400 K the β₁ state dissociates as binding sites necessary to coordinate N_ads and O_ads are freed by desorption of NO(g).     

Oscillatory behaviour of the NOH2 reaction over Rh(533)

Waves moving over the surface of a Rh field emitter tip in an oscillatory way during the NO-H₂ reaction have been visualized earlier by field electron microscopy (FEM). An autocatalysis model has been proposed to describe the oscillatory behaviour of the reduction of NO by H₂. To study the oscillatory behaviour and the effect of the surface structure in more detail a large Rh(100) surface and a large stepped Rh(533) surface, Rh[4(111)¹(100)], have been selected. The first results show that, in correspondence with the FEM experiments, rate oscillations could be observed over the Rh(533) surface in the 10⁻⁶ mbar pressure regime around 470 K. No oscillatory behaviour was obtained on the Rh(100) surface under these conditions. The structure-sensitivity of the process is related to the large dependence of the Rh-N bond strength on the surface structure. Nitrogen desorbs at a much higher temperature from Rh(100) than from Rh(533).     

Adsorption behavior and reaction properties of NO and CO on Rh(1 1 1)

Reactions between NO and CO on Rh(1 1 1) surfaces were investigated using infrared reflection absorption spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and temperature-programmed desorption. NO adsorbed on the fcc, atop, and hcp sites in that order, whereas CO adsorbed initially on the atop sites and then on the hollow (fcc + hcp) sites. The results of experiments with NO exposure on CO-preadsorbed Rh(1 1 1) surfaces indicated that the adsorption of NO on the hcp sites was inhibited by preadsorption of CO on the atop sites, and NO adsorption on the atop and fcc sites was inhibited by CO preadsorbed on each type of site, which indicates that NO and CO competitively adsorbed on Rh(1 1 1). From a Rh(1 1 1) surface with coadsorbed NO and CO, N₂ was produced from the dissociation of fcc-NO, and CO₂ was formed by the reaction of adsorbed CO with atomic oxygen from dissociated fcc-NO. The CO₂ production increased remarkably in the presence of hollow-CO. Coverage of fcc-NO and hollow-CO on Rh(1 1 1) depended on the composition ratio of the NO/CO gas mixture, and a gas mixture with NO/CO ? 1/2 was required for the co-existence of fcc-NO and hollow-CO at 273 K.     

Surface structure effects in the reactions of nitric oxide with hydrogen and carbon monoxide on rhodium: A comparison with the surface structure effects observed for the hydrogen-oxygen and carbon monoxide-oxygen reactions

Using field electron microscopy (FEM) and thermal desorption and reaction spectroscopy (TDS) the behaviour of various Rh single crystal surfaces towards reactions involving NO has been studied. If, after NO adsorption up to saturation at 77 K, the temperature is slowly raised the FEM results suggest that dissociation of NO starts at the (321), (331) and (533) surfaces. The reaction of NO_ads with hydrogen starts also at these surfaces (at about 360 K) suggesting that NO bond scission initiates the reaction. After initiation a surface explosion is observed. Depending on the heating rate either a clean surface or a N_ads covered surface is obtained after completion of the reaction. Apparently, the reduction of adsorbed N_ads by hydrogen can occur at a significant rate at this temperature. At a higher heating rate the formed N adatoms do not react with hydrogen and are readily desorbed as N₂ at 600 K. The reaction of NO_ads with CO starts again on the (321) and (331) surfaces. The rate of the reaction with CO is, however, much lower than that with hydrogen. For the reaction of CO_ads with NO, desorption of CO is the initiation step. The mechanisms of the reactions and the dependence of the reaction on the surface structure are discussed in relation to literature data.     

Selective β-elimination in the reaction of 2-propanol to acetone on Rh(111)-p(2 × 1)-O

The formation of acetone from 2-propanol and Rh(111)-p(2 × 1)-O has been investigated by temperature programmed reaction and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopies and isotopic labeling experiments under ultrahigh vacuum conditions. Some 2-propanol forms 2-propoxide on Rh(111)-p(2× 1)-O below 250 K and selective β (with respect to the metal in 2-propoxide) C-H bond breaking at 270 K is the primary path for acetone evolution. A minor amount of reversible C-H bond activation is also observed. β-carbon-hydrogen bond breaking is proposed to be the rate-limiting step for the initial acetone evolution from 2-propanol on Rh(111)-p(2× 1)-O at high coverage based on kinetic isotope effects. The rate of acetone evolution is in part rate-limited by desorption, however, for low 2-propanol exposures. In addition, there is some oxygen exchange between the surface and the acetone at 320 K. Combustion to H₂O, CO and CO₂is a competing pathway. Irreversible γ-C-H bond breaking primarily leads to combustion. The reactivity of 2-propanol on the (2 × 1)-O surface is dramatically different from that on clean Rh(111), where nonselective decomposition to CO and H₂ is induced. The inhibition of extensive, nonselective C-H and C-C bond breaking is a crucial factor in determining the selectivity for β-dehydrogenation to produce acetone.     

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.     

Vanadium oxide nanostructures on Rh(1 1 1): Promotion effect of CO adsorption and oxidation

The adsorption of CO and the reaction of CO with pre-adsorbed oxygen at room temperature has been studied on the (2 × 1)ORh(1 1 1) surface and on vanadium oxideRh(1 1 1) “inverse model catalyst” surfaces using scanning tunnelling microscopy (STM) and core-level photoemission with synchrotron radiation. Two types of structurally well-defined model catalyst V₃O₉Rh(1 1 1) surfaces have been prepared, which consist of large (mean size of 50 nm, type I model catalyst) and small (mean size <15 nm, type II model catalyst) two-dimensional oxide islands and bare Rh areas in between; the latter are covered by chemisorbed oxygen. Adsorption of CO on the oxygen pre-covered (2 × 1)ORh(1 1 1) surface leads to fast CO uptake in on-top sites and to the removal of half (0.25 ML) of the initial oxygen coverage by an oxidation clean-off reaction and as a result to the formation of a coadsorbed (2 × 2)O + CO phase. Further removal of the adsorbed O with CO is kinetically hindered at room temperature. A similar kinetic behaviour has been found also for the CO adsorption and oxidation reaction on the type I “inverse model catalyst” surface. In contrast, on the type II inverse catalyst surface, containing small V-oxide islands, the rate of removal of the chemisorbed oxygen is significantly enhanced. In addition, a reduction of the V-oxide islands at their perimeter by CO has been observed, which is suggested to be the reason for the promotion of the CO oxidation reaction near the metal-oxide phase boundary.     

CHaracterization of CO binding sites on Rh{111} and Rh{331} surfaces by XPS and LEED: Comparison to EELS results

Changes in the nature of the binding site of chemisorbed CO on the Rh{111} and Rh{331} single crystal surfaces during adsorption and desorption have been monitored by X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) and Low Energy Electron Diffraction (LEED). Two bonding states of molecular CO have been identified from the O 1s photoemission line. These states are assigned as atop and bridge-bonded species and are observed to be coverage and temperature dependent. On both surfaces atop sites are populated first and at higher CO coverages bridge sites are filled. On Rh{111} the bridge sites are filled at a CO coverage of θ_CO ～ 0.50 and their presence is correlated with a change in the LEED pattern. The presence of the step atoms on the Rh{331} surface markedly influenced the sequential filling of binding sites in comparison to that observed on the Rh{111} surface. A comparison of our data to previous Electron Energy Loss Spectroscopy (EELS) work on Rh{111} is in remarkable quantitative agreement with EELS peak heights.     

Unusual behaviour of chemical waves in the NO + H2 reaction on Rh(111): long-range diffusion and formation of patches with reduced work function

Pattern formation in the NO + H₂ reaction on Rh(111) has been investigated in the 10⁻⁶ mbar range using photoelectron emission microscopy (PEEM) as a spatially resolving method. Target patterns, spiral waves and irregular patterns are observed in a T-window of ∼20 K width at around 460 K, located in the transition range between the reactive and unreactive states of the surface. A new species characterized by a work function below that of the clean surface forms upon collision of two wave fronts. This new species is tentatively assigned to subsurface oxygen. The colliding wave fronts start to interact when they are still more than 100 μm apart, thus demonstrating the presence of a long-range diffusional coupling.     

The oxidation of CO on the Pt(100)-(5 × 20) surface

The kinetics of the CO oxidation reaction were examined on the Pt(100)-(5 × 20) surface under UHV conditions. The transient isothermal rate of CO₂ production was examined both for exposure of an oxygen-dosed surface to a beam of CO and for exposure of a CO-dosed surface to a beam of O₂. Langmuir-Hinshelwood kinetics were found to apply in both cases. For the reaction of CO with preadsorbed oxygen atoms, the reaction rate was dependent upon the square-root of the oxygen atom coverage, suggesting that oxygen atoms were adsorbed in islands on this surface. The oxidation of preadsorbed CO was observed only when the initial CO concentrations were less than 0.5 monolayer (c(2 × 2) structure), suggesting that the dissociative adsorption of oxygen required adjacent four-fold surface sites. The activation energy calculated for the reaction of CO with preadsorbed oxygen was 31.4 kcal/mol. This value was 30 kcal/mol greater than the activation energy measured for the reaction of O₂ with preadsorbed CO. Strong attractive interactions within the oxygen islands were at least partially responsible for this difference. The reaction kinetics in both cases changed dramatically below 300 K; this change is believed to be due to phase separation at the lower temperature.     

Electronic structure of bimetallic Ni–Rh nanowires

The electronic structure of a bare Rh(553) surface and of a Ni-decorated Rh(553) surface has been investigated by angle-resolved UV photoelectron spectroscopy and density functional theory calculations. The self-assembly of Ni adatoms leads to the decoration of the steps of the Rh(553) surface with monoatomic Ni rows under suitable kinetic conditions, thus forming a regular array of pseudomorphic bimetallic Ni–Rh nanowires. The electronic structure of the clean Rh(553) surface has been compared to the one of the flat Rh(111) surface, and additional surface states localized at the step edges due to the lower coordination of the step atoms have been detected. The Ni wires are weakly hybridized with the Rh substrate states and are characterized by only weakly dispersing states. This leads to a strong narrowing of the d-band, which is argued to be the origin of the observed high chemical reactivity of the Ni–Rh nanowires.     

Surface structure of TiO2(011)-(2x1)

A combined experimental and first principles study of the (2x1)-reconstructed rutile TiO2(011) surface is presented. Our results provide evidence that the surface structure is described by a model that includes onefold coordinated (titanyl) oxygen atoms giving rise to double bonded Ti=O species. These species should play a special role in the enhanced photocatalytic activity of the TiO2(011) surface.     

LEED crystallographic analysis for the Rh(111)-(2 × 1)---O surface structure

A tensor LEED analysis is reported for the Rh(111)-(2 × 1)---O surface structure in which atoms in the O overlayer chemisorb close to the regular (fcc type) three-fold hollow sites for half-monolayer coverage. The structure shows significant relaxations: for example, a buckling of about 0.07 Å is indicated in the first metal layer and O appears to displace laterally by about 0.05 Å. The individual O---Rh bond lengths are around 2.01 and 1.92 Å to top layer Rh atoms, which bond to two and one O atoms, respectively, but the average value (1.98 Å) is close to that in bulk RhO₂ (1.96 Å). Comparison is also made with the previously determined O---Rh bond lengths in the Rh(110)-p2mg(2 × 1) surface structure.     

Adsorption and reactivity of SO2 on Ir(1 1 1) and Rh(1 1 1)

The adsorption and reactivity of SO₂ on the Ir(1 1 1) and Rh(1 1 1) surfaces were studied by surface science techniques. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy measurements showed that SO₂ was molecularly adsorbed on both the Ir(1 1 1) surface and the Rh(1 1 1) surface at 200 K. Adsorbed SO₂ on the Ir(1 1 1) surface disproportionated to atomic sulfur and SO₃ at 300 K, whereas adsorbed SO₂ on the Rh(1 1 1) surface dissociated to atomic sulfur and oxygen above 250 K. Only atomic sulfur was present on both surfaces above 500 K, but the formation process and structure of the adsorbed atomic sulfur on Ir(1 1 1) were different from those on Rh(1 1 1). On Ir(1 1 1), atomic sulfur reacted with surface oxygen and was completely removed from the surface, whereas on Rh(1 1 1), sulfur did not react with oxygen.     

Dynamical behaviour of PtRh(100) alloy surface during dissociative adsorption of NO and reaction of NO with H2

When a clean Pt-Rh(100) alloy surface was exposed to NO at T > 440 K, the LEED pattern changed sequentially as p(1 × 1) → c(2 × 2) → c(2 × 2) + p(3 × 1) → p(3 × 1), where the c(2 × 2) pattern appeared immediately after the exposure to NO. In contrast to this, the appearance time for the p(3 × 1) depends strongly on the initial Rh concentration on the surface adjusted by annealing. When the p(3 × 1) surface was exposed to H₂ by mixing H₂ into NO gas, the AES intensity of O(a) decreased and of N(a) increased markedly and the LEED pattern changed from p(3 × 1) to c(2 × 2). These results suggest that N(a) has equal affinity to Pt and Rh atoms so that the N(a) does not distinguish the Pt and Rh sites on the alloy surface. On the other hand, O(a) makes a stronger bond with Rh atoms so that Rh atom segregation onto the surface is induced. By reacting randomly distributed Rh atoms on the Pt-Rh(100) surface with oxygen, a surface compound in a p(3 × 1) arrangement is built on the surface.