The thermal and electron-induced chemistry of [formula omitted

Abstract

The thermal and electron-induced chemistry of N 2O on Ag(111) was examined using temperature programmed desorption (TPD) and Auger electron spectroscopy (AES). N 2O adsorbs and desorbs molecularly with multilayer and monolayer desorption temperatures of 86 and 94–102 K, respectively. No thermal decomposition was observed. Irradiation with 50 and 2500 eV electrons at 83 K causes partial decomposition of multilayers; N 2 desorbs during irradiation, and O 2 desorption, at 530 K, is observed in post-irradiation TPD. Only O and Ag are detected by AES after flashing irradiated samples to 500 K; O disappears above 700 K. Incident and secondary electrons can account for the observed surface chemistry and the latter can account for reported N 2O decomposition in X-ray photoelectron measurements. For monolayer coverages, irradiated with 50 eV electrons, there is no dissociation, an effect attributed to substrate quenching.