Interaction of CO, NO, and H2 molecules on the surface of a Ni/MgO(111) metal oxide system

Abstract

The adsorption and interaction of carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen oxide (NO), and hydrogen (H2) molecules on the surface of a system produced when nanosize nickel clusters are formed on the surface of a magnesium oxide film [MgO (111)] has been studied in an ultrahigh vacuum by IR, thermal desorption, and photoelectron spectroscopy. It is shown that, at a substrate temperature of 85 K, CO and NO molecules at low surface concentrations, are mostly adsorbed on the surface of Ni particles, whereas at higher surface coverage CO molecules are forced to the Ni/MgO(111) interface. The adsorption of hydrogen results in NO molecules also being displaced to the interface. The particular state of the molecules at the interface between the metal and the polar surface of the oxide is responsible for the observed processes in which CO is converted to CO2 due to the reduction of NO to N2.