Monte Carlo simulation to study surface diffusion and reaction processes on a fractal catalyst

Abstract

The surface of a catalyst is a fractal, and its fractal dimension can strongly influence the performance of a catalytic reaction. By means of the Monte Carlo method, the decompositions of N 2O on a square lattice and a fractal surface are investigated in this paper. From the simulation it is found that the fractal surface can change both the reaction rate constant K and the reaction order α in the N 2O decomposition, and all of these changes are caused by the abnormal diffusion of the surface species on the fractal surface.