The low temperature water formation reaction on Pt(111): A static SIMS and TDS study

The formation of water by the reaction of preadsorbed oxygen with hydrogen on a Pt(111) surface has been characterized, using secondary ion mass spectroscopy, below the desorption temperature of H₂O (180 K). The concentration of chemisorbed water was monitored during the reaction by following the SIMS H₃O⁺ signal. Reaction profiles were measured over a temperature range of 120 to 153 K, and an H₂ pressure range of 10^-9 to 10^-6 Torr. Under all conditions the reaction profiles were characterized by an induction time, a region of rapid reaction, and finally a steady decline in the rate. In the rapid region, an overall activation energy of 2.9 ± 0.3 kcalmol^-1 and a half-order H₂ pressure dependence were observed. At low initial oxygen concentrations the induction time increased and the maximum rate decreased. The reaction was slow in the absence of gas phase hydrogen, even when the surface coverage of hydrogen was relatively high. Water and hydrogen thermal desorption spectra, measured after stopping the reaction by removal of gas phase hydrogen, were complex functions of the H₂ exposure, exhibiting several peaks between 170 and 400 K. However, after an exposure large enough to drive the reaction to completion, only one H₂O peak at 173 K and one H₂ peak at 350 K were observed. The results indicate that only a fraction of the total H(a) on the surface was readily available for reaction during H₂ exposure at T ? 153 K. the remainder either recombined to form H₂ or reacted with O(a) during the thermal desorption ramp. There is good evidence for a surface rearrangement during the induction period. A model is proposed which involves the formation of water clusters that accelerate the rate.