Thermal decomposition of methanol absorbed on palladium{111}. A new reaction pathway involving methyl formation

Abstract

The adsorption and subsequent decomposition of CH{sub 3}OH on Pd(111) has been examined with X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) over the temperature range 110-600 K. The authors find that the thermal decomposition reaction pathway after adsorption at 110 K is strongly dependent on the initial CH{sub 3}OH exposure. Below the saturation CH{sub 3}OH exposure of 1.5 langmuirs the primary decomposition products are observed to be CH{sub 3ads}, OCH{sub 3ads}, and H{sub 2}O{sub ads}. This chemistry suggests that the methanolic C-O bond is activated at the metal surface. These products are observed to form at temperatures as low as 125 K. For exposures above 1.5 langmuirs this decomposition pathway is no longer observed, possibly due to a site blocking effect, and molecular desorption occurs with trace decomposition. Interestingly, they find no evidence that CH{sub 3}OH adsorbed at 110 K with initial exposures below 1.5 langmuirs decomposes to CO at any temperature below the thermal desorption temperature of CO at 490 K. finally, the SIMS ion observed at m/e 15 (CH{sub 3ads}) and associated with the decomposition of CH{sub 3}OH is found to persist over the rather wide temperature range 125-400 K. The unusual stability of CH{sub 3ads}more » suggested by these findings may be related to the effectiveness of Pd-based catalysts to produce CH{sub 3}OH.« less