| 1. |
- Xin, H., et al.
(author)
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Strong Influence of Coadsorbate Interaction on CO Desorption Dynamics on Ru(0001) Probed by Ultrafast X-Ray Spectroscopy and Ab Initio Simulations
- 2015
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In: Physical Review Letters. - 0031-9007 .- 1079-7114. ; 114:15
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We show that coadsorbed oxygen atoms have a dramatic influence on the CO desorption dynamics from Ru(0001). In contrast to the precursor-mediated desorption mechanism on Ru(0001), the presence of surface oxygen modifies the electronic structure of Ru atoms such that CO desorption occurs predominantly via the direct pathway. This phenomenon is directly observed in an ultrafast pump-probe experiment using a soft x-ray free-electron laser to monitor the dynamic evolution of the valence electronic structure of the surface species. This is supported with the potential of mean force along the CO desorption path obtained from density-functional theory calculations. Charge density distribution and frozen-orbital analysis suggest that the oxygen-induced reduction of the Pauli repulsion, and consequent increase of the dative interaction between the CO 5 sigma and the charged Ru atom, is the electronic origin of the distinct desorption dynamics. Ab initio molecular dynamics simulations of CO desorption from Ru(0001) and oxygen-coadsorbed Ru(0001) provide further insights into the surface bond-breaking process.
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| 2. |
- Östrom, Henrik, et al.
(author)
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Probing the transition state region in catalytic CO oxidation on Ru
- 2015
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In: Science. - : American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). - 0036-8075 .- 1095-9203. ; 347:6225, s. 978-982
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Femtosecond x-ray laser pulses are used to probe the carbon monoxide (CO) oxidation reaction on ruthenium (Ru) initiated by an optical laser pulse. On a time scale of a few hundred femtoseconds, the optical laser pulse excites motions of CO and oxygen (O) on the surface, allowing the reactants to collide, and, with a transient close to a picosecond (ps), new electronic states appear in the OK-edge x-ray absorption spectrum. Density functional theory calculations indicate that these result from changes in the adsorption site and bond formation between CO and O with a distribution of OC-O bond lengths close to the transition state (TS). After 1 ps, 10% of the CO populate the TS region, which is consistent with predictions based on a quantum oscillator model.
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| 3. |
- LaRue, Jerry, et al.
(author)
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Real-Time Elucidation of Catalytic Pathways in CO Hydrogenation on Ru
- 2017
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In: The Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters. - : American Chemical Society (ACS). - 1948-7185. ; 8:16, s. 3820-3825
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The direct elucidation of the reaction pathways in heterogeneous catalysis has been challenging due to the short-lived nature of reaction intermediates. Here, we directly measured on ultrafast time scales the initial hydrogenation steps of adsorbed CO on a Ru catalyst surface, which is known as the bottleneck reaction in syngas and CO2 reforming processes. We initiated the hydrogenation of CO with an ultrafast laser temperature jump and probed transient changes in the electronic structure using real-time X-ray spectroscopy. In combination with theoretical simulations, we verified the formation of CHO during CO hydrogenation.
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| 4. |
- Beye, Martin, et al.
(author)
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Chemical Bond Activation Observed with an X-ray Laser
- 2016
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In: The Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters. - : American Chemical Society (ACS). - 1948-7185. ; 7:18, s. 3647-3651
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The concept of bonding and antibonding orbitals is fundamental in chemistry. The population of those orbitals and the energetic difference between the two reflect the strength of the bonding interaction. Weakening the bond is expected to reduce this energetic splitting, but the transient character of bond-activation has so far prohibited direct experimental access. Here we apply time-resolved soft X-ray spectroscopy at a free electron laser to directly observe the decreased bonding antibonding splitting following bond-activation using an ultrashort optical laser pulse.
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| 5. |
- Gladh, Jörgen, et al.
(author)
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Detection of adsorbate overlayer structural transitions using sum-frequency generation spectroscopy
- 2015
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In: Surface Science. - : Elsevier BV. - 0039-6028 .- 1879-2758. ; 633, s. 77-81
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We demonstrate that temperature-programmed vibrational sum-frequency generation (SFG) spectroscopy has a unique sensitivity to certain adsorbate overlayer structural transitions. In the CO stretching vibration of co-adsorbed CO/O(2x1)/Ru(0001) we observe pronounced dips in the spectral intensity as the adsorbate overlayer undergoes structural transitions with temperature. Combining with temperature-programmed desorption (TPD) a more complete picture of temperature-dependent structural transitions is obtained. We extract kinetic parameters from the SFG data and obtain good agreement with TPD when both techniques see the same transition. Infrared-infrared visible SFG is used to determine changes in inter-adsorbate coupling that allow us to experimentally assign the structural transitions. Furthermore, density functional theory calculations of the proposed structures and energetics are performed to verify the experimental assignments.
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| 6. |
- Nilsson, Anders, et al.
(author)
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Catalysis in real time using X-ray lasers
- 2017
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In: Chemical Physics Letters. - : Elsevier BV. - 0009-2614 .- 1873-4448. ; 675, s. 145-173
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We describe how the unique temporal and spectral characteristics of X-ray free-electron lasers (XFEL) can be utilized to follow chemical transformations in heterogeneous catalysis in real time. We highlight the systematic study of CO oxidation on Ru(0001), which we initiate either using a femtosecond pulse from an optical laser or by activating only the oxygen atoms using a THz pulse. We find that CO is promoted into an entropy-controlled precursor state prior to desorbing when the surface is heated in the absence of oxygen, whereas in the presence of oxygen, CO desorbs directly into the gas phase. We monitor the activation of atomic oxygen explicitly by the reduced split between bonding and antibonding orbitals as the oxygen comes out of the strongly bound hollow position. Applying these novel XFEL techniques to the full oxidation reaction resulted in the surprising observation of a significant fraction of the reactants at the transition state through the electronic signature of the new bond formation.
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| 7. |
- Stenseke, Marie, et al.
(author)
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Kris i naturen – vår existens har blivit sårbar
- 2019
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In: Svenska Dagbladet, Stockholm. - 1101-2412.
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Journal article (pop. science, debate, etc.)abstract
- Fler arter än någonsin i mänsklighetens historia hotas av utrotning och den biologiska mångfalden lokalt har förändrats kraftigt i en stor del av världens ekosystem. Grundläggande förändringar behövs både i samhället och för individer, för att bromsa den negativa trenden, skriver en rad debattörer.
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| 8. |
- Öberg, Henrik, et al.
(author)
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Indication of non-thermal contribution to visible femtosecond laser-induced CO oxidation on Ru(0001)
- 2015
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In: Journal of Chemical Physics. - : AIP Publishing. - 0021-9606 .- 1089-7690. ; 143:7
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We studied CO oxidation on Ru(0001) induced by 400 nm and 800 nm femtosecond laser pulses where we find a branching ratio between CO oxidation and desorption of 1: 9 and 1: 31, respectively, showing higher selectivity towards CO oxidation for the shorter wavelength excitation. Activation energies computed with density functional theory show discrepancies with values extracted from the experiments, indicating both a mixture between different adsorbed phases and importance of non-adiabatic effects on the effective barrier for oxidation. We simulated the reactions using kinetic modeling based on the two-temperature model of laser-induced energy transfer in the substrate combined with a friction model for the coupling to adsorbate vibrations. This model gives an overall good agreement with experiment except for the substantial difference in yield ratio between CO oxidation and desorption at 400 nm and 800 nm. However, including also the initial, non-thermal effect of electrons transiently excited into antibonding states of the O-Ru bond yielded good agreement with all experimental results.
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