An official website of the United States government
We combine velocity map imaging (VMI) with temperature-programmed desorption (TPD) experiments to record the angular-resolved velocity distributions of recombinatively-desorbing oxygen from Rh(111). We assign the velocity distributions to desorption from specific surface and sub-surface states by matching the recorded distributions to the desorption temperature. These results provide insight into the recombinative desorption mechanisms and the availability of oxygen for surface-catalyzed reactions.
more »
« less
Temperature-resolved surface infrared spectroscopy of CO on Rh(111) and (2 × 1)-O/Rh(111)
Heterogeneously catalyzed reactions over transition metal surfaces are pillars of chemical industry and account for a significant fraction of the global energy demand. CO oxidation provides insight into the relative reactivity of various oxygenaceous surface phases, and it is necessary to first understand where it binds to the surface and the nature of the local environment to develop robust mechanistic pictures of the reaction. Surface IR spectroscopy is a quantitative technique that also provides information about the binding sites and chemical environments of the adsorbed CO molecules. Here, we report results from a study of CO sticking to clean Rh(111) and (2 × 1)-O/Rh(111) that shows that the intensity of the IR absorption was not linear with coverage and is an important consideration for further studies of the catalytic surface.
more »
« less
- Award ID(s):
- 1800291
- PAR ID:
- 10339108
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Journal of Vacuum Science & Technology A
- Volume:
- 40
- Issue:
- 4
- ISSN:
- 0734-2101
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 043209
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
More Like this
-
-
In heterogeneously catalyzed oxidation reactions on metal surfaces, advantageous oxygenaceous species proffer lower barrier reaction pathways. In order to utilize such reactions better, it is essential to understand what species are present, how they are formed, and under what conditions they are available for reaction. Oxides, adsorbed oxygen, and subsurface oxygen each form on Rh(111) surfaces and thus provide the opportunity to distinguish the contributions of each species to the overall reactivity. In an effort to elucidate relevant reaction sites on catalytically active rhodium surfaces, a combination of scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and temperature-programmed desorption (TPD) showed that when subsurface oxygen is present, CO was readily oxidized at the interface between the metallic and oxidic phases at relatively modest temperatures.more » « less
-
Abstract Spillover of adsorbed species from one active site to another is a key step in heterogeneous catalysis. However, the factors controlling this step, particularly the spillover of polyatomic species, have rarely been studied. Herein, we investigate the spillover dynamics of H* and CH3* species on a single‐atom alloy surface (Rh/Cu(111)) upon the dissociative chemisorption of methane (CH4), using molecular dynamics that considers both surface phonons and electron‐hole pairs. These dynamical calculations are made possible by a high‐dimensional potential energy surface machine learned from density functional theory data. Our results provide compelling evidence that the H* and CH3* can spill over on the metal surface at experimental temperatures and reveal novel dynamical features involving an internal motion during diffusion for CH3*. Increasing surface temperature has a minor effect on promoting spillover, as geminate recombinative desorption becomes more prevalent. However, the poisoning of the active site can be mitigated by the frequent gaseous molecular collisions that occur under ambient pressure in real‐world catalysis, which transfer energy to the trapped adsorbates. Interestingly, the bulky CH3* exhibits a significant spillover advantage over the light H* due to its larger size, which facilitates energy acquisition. These insights help to advance our understanding of spillover in heterogeneous catalysis.more » « less
-
Phenol is an important model compound to understand the thermocatalytic (TCH) and electrocatalytic hydrogenation (ECH) of biomass to biofuels. Although Pt and Rh are among the most studied catalysts for aqueous-phase phenol hydrogenation, the reason why certain facets are active for ECH and TCH is not fully understood. Herein, we identify the active facet of Pt and Rh catalysts for aqueous-phase hydrogenation of phenol and explain the origin of the size-dependent activity trends of Pt and Rh nanoparticles. Phenol adsorption energies extracted on the active sites of Pt and Rh nanoparticles on carbon by fitting kinetic data show that the active sites adsorb phenol weakly. We predict that the turnover frequencies (TOFs) for the hydrogenation of phenol to cyclohexanone on Pt(111) and Rh(111) terraces are higher than those on (221) stepped facets based on density functional theory modeling and mean-field microkinetic simulations. The higher activities of the (111) terraces are due to lower activation energies and weaker phenol adsorption, preventing high coverages of phenol from inhibiting hydrogen adsorption. We measure that the TOF for ECH of phenol increases as the Rh nanoparticle diameter increases from 2 to 10 nm at 298 K and −0.1 V vs the reversible hydrogen electrode, qualitatively matching prior reports for Pt nanoparticles. The increase in experimental TOFs as Pt and Rh nanoparticle diameters increase is due to a larger fraction of terraces on larger particles. These findings clarify the structure sensitivity and active site of Pt and Rh for the hydrogenation of phenol and will inform the catalyst design for the hydrogenation of bio-oils.more » « less
-
Herein we report an experimental and computational study of a family of four coordinated 14-electron complexes of Rh( iii ) devoid of agostic interactions. The complexes [X–Rh(κ 3 ( P,Si,Si )PhP( o -C 6 H 4 CH 2 Si i Pr 2 ) 2 ], where X = Cl (Rh-1), Br (Rh-2), I (Rh-3), OTf (Rh-4), Cl·GaCl 3 (Rh-5); derive from a bis(silyl)- o -tolylphosphine with isopropyl substituents on the Si atoms. All five complexes display a sawhorse geometry around Rh and exhibit similar spectroscopic and structural properties. The catalytic activity of these complexes and [Cl–Ir(κ 3 ( P,Si,Si )PhP( o -C 6 H 4 CH 2 Si i Pr 2 ) 2 ], Ir-1, in styrene and aliphatic alkene functionalizations with hydrosilanes is disclosed. We show that Rh-1 catalyzes effectively the dehydrogenative silylation of styrene with Et 3 SiH in toluene while it leads to hydrosilylation products in acetonitrile. Rh-1 is an excellent catalyst in the sequential isomerization/hydrosilylation of terminal and remote aliphatic alkenes with Et 3 SiH including hexene isomers, leading efficiently and selectively to the terminal anti-Markonikov hydrosilylation product in all cases. With aliphatic alkenes, no hydrogenation products are observed. Conversely, catalysis of the same hexene isomers by Ir-1 renders allyl silanes, the tandem isomerization/dehydrogenative silylation products. A mechanistic proposal is made to explain the catalysis with these M( iii ) complexes.more » « less
- Free Publicly Accessible Full Text
-
Accepted Manuscript1.0
- Journal Article:
- https://doi.org/10.1116/6.0001932
