Low-Temperature CO Oxidation on Ni(111) and on a Au/Ni(111) Surface Alloy

• From an interplay between scanning tunneling microscopy, temperature programmed desorption, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and density functional theory calculations we have studied low-temperature CO oxidation on Au/Ni(111) surface alloys and on Ni(111). We show that an oxide is formed on both the Ni(111) and the Au/Ni(111) surfaces when oxygen is dosed at 100 K, and that CO can be oxidized at 100 K on both of these surfaces in the presence of weakly bound oxygen. We suggest that low-temperature CO oxidation can be rationalized by CO oxidation on O-2-saturated NiO(111) surfaces, and show that the main effect of Au in the Au/Ni(111) surface alloy is to block the formation of carbonate and thereby increase the low-temperature CO2 production.

Subject headings

TEKNIK OCH TEKNOLOGIER  -- Nanoteknik -- Nanoteknik (hsv//swe)

ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY  -- Nano-technology -- Nano-technology (hsv//eng)

Keyword

X-ray

photoelectron spectroscopy

scanning tunneling microscopy

low-temperature oxidation

AuNi surface alloy

low-temperature CO oxidation

nickel oxide

Publication and Content Type

art (subject category)

ref (subject category)