Electric Field Effect on Condensed-Phase Molecular Systems. III. The Origin of the Field-Induced Change in the Vibrational Frequency of Adsorbed CO on Pt(111)

Abstract

The effect of an external electric field on the C–O stretch frequency, ν(C–O), of carbon monoxide was studied for CO in different environments of condensed molecular films: (I) chemisorbed CO on Pt(111) covered with amorphous solid water (ASW), (II) CO trapped in an ASW matrix, (III) chemisorbed CO on Pt(111) covered with solid Ar, and (IV) CO trapped in a solid Ar matrix. Changes in ν(C–O) of these samples under an electric field were measured to investigate the Stark frequency shift and the effect of metal–adsorbate charge transfer on the frequency change. The electric field was applied up to 4.3 × 108 V·m–1 using the ice film capacitor method. Reflection absorption infrared spectroscopy was used to monitor the spectral changes of the ν(C–O) band. The Stark shift was measured from the ν(C–O) change of isolated CO in the ASW matrix under the field. The effect of metal–adsorbate charge transfer was estimated for chemisorbed CO by measuring the ν(C–O) shift under the field and subtracting the electrostatic...