Molecular orbital study of the chemisorption of carbon monoxide on a tungsten (100) surface

The adsorption energies of carbon monoxide chemisorbed at various sites on a tungsten (100) surface have been calculated by extended Hückel molecular orbital theory (EHMO). The concept of a “surface molecule” in which CO is bonded to an array of tungsten atoms W_n has been employed. Dissociative adsorption in which C occupies a four-fold, five-coordination site and O occupies either a four- or two-fold site has been found to be the most stable form for CO on a W surface. Stable one-fold and two-fold sites of molecularly adsorbed CO have also been found in which the CO group is normal to the surface plane and the C atom is nearest the surface. Adsorption energies and molecular orbitals for the stable molecularly and dissociatively adsobred CO sites are compared with the experimental data on various types of adsorbed CO, i.e., virgin-, α-, and β-CO. Models are suggested for each of these adsorption types. The strongest bonding interactions occur between the CO 5σ orbital and the totally symmetric 5d and 6s orbitals of the W_n cluster. Possible mechanisms for conversion of molecularly adsorbed CO to dissociatively adsorbed CO are proposed and the corresponding activation energies are estimated.