The dissociation kinetics of NO on Rh(111) as studied by temperature programmed static secondary ion mass spectrometry and desorption

Abstract

Temperature programmed static secondary ion mass spectrometry (TPSSIMS) and temperature programmed desorption (TPD) have been used to study the kinetics of adsorption, dissociation, and desorption of NO on Rh(111). At 100 K, NO adsorption is molecular and proceeds via mobile precursor state kinetics with a high initial sticking probability. SSIMS indicates the presence of two distinct NO adsorption states, indicative of threefold adsorption at low coverage, and occupation of bridge sites at higher coverages. Three characteristic coverage regimes appear with respect to NO dissociation. At low coverages θNO<0.25 ML, NO dissociates completely at temperatures between 275 and 340 K. If we neglect lateral interactions and assume pure first order dissociation kinetics, we find effective values for the activation barrier and preexponential factor of 40±6 kJ/mol and 106±1 s−1 for the dissociation of 0.15–0.20 ML NO. However, if we assume that a NO molecule needs an ensemble of three to four vacant sites in order to dissociate, the preexponential factor and activation energy are ∼1011 s−1 and 65 kJ/mol, in better agreement with transition state theory expectations. The Nads and Oads dissociation products desorb as N2 and O2, respectively, with desorption parameters Edes=118±10 kJ/mol and νdes=1010.1±1.0 s−1 for N2 in the zero coverage limit. At higher coverages, the desorption kinetics of N2 is strongly influenced by the presence of coadsorbed oxygen. In the medium coverage range 0.25<θNO<0.50 ML, part of the NO desorbs molecularly, with an estimated desorption barrier of 113±10 kJ/mol and a preexponential of 1013.5±1.0 s−1. Dissociation of NO becomes progressively inhibited due to site blocking, the onset shifting from 275 K at 0.25 ML to 400 K, coinciding with the NO desorption temperature, at a coverage of 0.50 ML. The accumulation of nitrogen and oxygen atoms on the highly covered surface causes a destabilization of the nitrogen atoms, which results in an additional low-temperature desorption state for N2. For high initial NO coverages above 0.50 ML, the dissociation is completely self-inhibited, indicating that all sites required for dissociation are blocked. The desorption of the more weakly bound—presumably bridged—NO does not generate the sites required for dissociation; these become only available after the desorption of—presumably triply coordinated—NO.