Affiliation: | a Institute of Industrial Science, University of Tokyo, 7-22-1 Roppongi, Minato-ku, Tokyo 106, Japan b PRESTO, Japan Science and Technology Corporation, Tokyo, Japan c Division of Natural Science, University of Electro-communications, 1-5-1 Chofugaoka, Chofu, Tokyo 182, Japan |
Abstract: | Photoexcited processes of NO and CO at photon energies ranging from 2.3 to 6.4 eV are investigated on Pt(111), Ni(111) and Pt(111)---Ge surface alloys by reflection-absorption infrared spectroscopy and resonance-enhanced multiphoton ionization. The branching between three competitive processes of desorption, recapture and dissociation upon laser irradiation is dramatically changed on the three surfaces. On Pt(111), NO is either photodesorbed or photodissociated depending on the coverage, while NO is exclusively photodissociated on Ni(111). UV-photon irradiation of NO on Pt(111)---Ge, on the other hand, induces only desorption of NO. Desorption of CO bound at the on-top site of Pt(111) is induced by laser irradiation. The electronic mechanism for photodesorption and competitive branching is discussed in terms of the electronic structure of the substrate and the adsorbate. |