Coadsorbate effects on adsorbate vibrational properties

Abstract

A quantitative analysis of infrared absorption spectra to determine coadsorbate induced relative changes of the vibrational polarizability α v of an adsorbate mode and of the dielectric screening ϵ due to this extra species is presented. Four (ternary) coadsorption systems consisting of the Ru(0 0 0 1)-(2 × 2)-(X + CO + O) layer with additional coadsorbates X = H, NO, CO, or O (all of them occupying the remaining empty fcc site) have been studied with FT-IRAS, TDS, LEED and work function change measurements. On-top CO is thereby used as a probe molecule to monitor coadsorbate effects on the dielectric properties of the layer. The vibrational polarizability α v associated with the internal C–O stretch mode ( ν C–O) of on-top CO is lowered by all coadsorbates. The dielectric screening ϵ within the adsorbate layer is reduced in the presence of the atomic coadsorbates O and H whereas an increase of ϵ is found for the molecular coadsorbates, threefold coordinated CO and NO. The derived changes of α v and dielectric screening ϵ, as well as the involved line shifts of ν C–O and ν Ru–CO can be understood in terms of the standard Blyholder backbonding model, i.e. CO 5 σ charge donation to the metal combined with a backdonation to electronic states with 2π∗ character.