The chemisorption of nitric oxide and the oxidation of ammonia at Cu(110) surfaces: a X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and scanning tunnelling microscopy (STM) study

Abstract

The dissociative chemisorption of nitric oxide at Cu(110) has been shown to result in rapid ordering of oxygen adatoms as (2×1)O chains oriented along the 〈100〉 direction while the associated nitrogen adatoms are mainly disordered at 295 K. Surface diffusion of the N adatoms, following bond cleavage, is activated and ordering of the (2×3)N strings occurs on heating to 430 K. A number of distinct reaction pathways have been isolated during the oxidation of ammonia resulting in the formation of either chemisorbed imide or nitrogen adatoms. The latter depending on temperature, may exhibit a (2×3)N, a (3×3)N or both structures may exist simultaneously. The concentration of nitrogen in the complete (2×3)N structure has been determined to be 6.6×10¹⁴ cm^-2, with only a 25% decrease in nitrogen concentration leading to the transformation to the (3×3)N structure. The oxygen atoms at a Cu(110)–O overlayer, and present at the ends of the (2×1) strings terminating in steps, show specific reactivity when exposed to ammonia at 375 K resulting in the “decoration” of the steps with imide species while the oxygens within the (2×1) strings remain unreactive.