Raman Spectroscopy of the Reaction of Thin Films of Solid-State Benzene with Vapor-Deposited Ag, Mg, and Al

Abstract

Thin films of solid-state benzene at 30 K were reacted with small quantities of vapor-deposited Ag, Mg, and Al under ultrahigh vacuum, and products were monitored using surface Raman spectroscopy. Although Ag and Mg produce small amounts of metal–benzene adduct products, the resulting Raman spectra are dominated by surface enhancement of the normal benzene modes from metallic nanoparticles suggesting rapid Ag or Mg metallization of the film. In contrast, large quantities of Al adduct products are observed. Vibrational modes of the products in all three systems suggest adducts that are formed through a pathway initiated by an electron transfer reaction. The difference in reactivity between these metals is ascribed to differences in ionization potential of the metal atoms; ionization potential values for Ag and Mg are similar but larger than that for Al. These studies demonstrate the importance of atomic parameters, such as ionization potential, in solid-state metal–organic reaction chemistry.