Periodic forcing of the oscillatory CO oxidation on Pt single-crystal surfaces

Abstract

The kinetic oscillations occurring in the oxidation of carbon monoxide on Pt(110) and Pt(100) single-crystal surfaces at low pressure under isothermal conditions exhibit, despite a similar underlying mechanism, some pronounced differences in phenomenology between the two surfaces, which become most clearly evident in studies of the system response to external periodic perturbations. These differences can be rationalized in terms of different types of spatial self-organization on the two surfaces in question, namely, reaction–diffusion coupling on Pt(100) and feedback through the gas phase for Pt(110).