CO-promoted formation of the alkali-oxygen bond on Ni(111)

A Politano; A R Marino; G Chiarello

doi:10.1063/1.3292006

CO-promoted formation of the alkali-oxygen bond on Ni(111)

J Chem Phys. 2010 Jan 28;132(4):044706. doi: 10.1063/1.3292006.

Authors

A Politano¹, A R Marino, G Chiarello

Affiliation

¹ Dipartimento di Fisica, Università degli Studi della Calabria, via ponte Bucci, 87036 Rende (Cs), Italy.

PMID: 20113058
DOI: 10.1063/1.3292006

Abstract

High-resolution electron energy loss spectroscopy was used to study the coadsorption of alkali metals (Na, K) and oxygen on clean and CO-modified Ni(111) surfaces. We unambiguously show that on an alkali-precovered surface, the alkali-O bond was not formed upon O(2) exposure. On the contrary, the alkali-O bond was readily observed by exposing to O(2) the Ni(111) surface precovered with an alkali+CO phase. This enhanced oxidation rate of alkali metals in the presence of CO molecules was ascribed to the short-range CO-induced modification of the electronic charge of alkali-metal adatoms.