The catalytic hydrogenation of CO(2) at the surface of a metal hydride and the corresponding surface segregation were investigated. The surface processes on Mg(2)NiH(4) were analyzed by in situ X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) combined with thermal desorption spectroscopy (TDS) and mass spectrometry (MS), and time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS). CO(2) hydrogenation on the hydride surface during hydrogen desorption was analyzed by catalytic activity measurement with a flow reactor, a gas chromatograph (GC) and MS. We conclude that for the CO(2) methanation reaction, the dissociation of H(2) molecules at the surface is not the rate controlling step but the dissociative adsorption of CO(2) molecules on the hydride surface.
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