| Affiliation: | Department of Chemistry, University of Western Ontario, London, ONT N6A 5B7, Canada |
| Abstract: | The adsorption of D2O on Zr(0001) at 80 K and its subsequent reactions at higher temperatures have been studied by thermal desorption spectroscopy (TDS), work-function measurements (Δф), nuclear reaction analysis (NRA), LEED, infrared reflection spectroscopy (FTIR-RAS), Auger electron spectroscopy (AES), and static secondary ion mass spectroscopy (SSIMS). D2O adsorption on Zr(0001) at 80 K is accompanied by a Δф of −1.33 eV. The adsorbed D2O can be characterized into three layers by TDS: a chemisorbed layer (up to 0.23 ML), a second adsorbed layer, and an ice layer. The chemisorbed D2O dissociates into ODad and Dad at 80 K (possibly also into Oad) and no desorption products could be detected, implying that the reaction products dissolved into the zirconium at temperatures appropriate for each component. The ice layer and most of the second adsorbed layer desorb as molecular water during heating. The water adsorbed at 80 K did not form any long-range ordered structure, but a (2 × 2) LEED pattern that was formed by heating the sample to temperatures above 430 K is believed due to be an ordered oxygen superstructure. |
