XPS,UPS AND XAES studies of the adsorption of nitrogen,oxygen, and nitrogen oxides on W(110) at 300 and 100 K: II. Adsorption of NO

The adsorption layers formed by exposure ofW(110) to NO gas at about 300 and 100 K have been investigated by XPS, UPS and XAES. At room temperature only dissociative adsorption takes place. At 100 K, the initial adsorption is also dissociative, but there is some indication of the formation of a transient NO species. Higher NO exposures lead to the formation of adsorbed N₂O, which then partly desorbs and partly dissociates before 150 K is reached. This shows that N₂O can be formed from N(ad) + NO. The relevance of our data to catalytic NO decomposition is discussed.