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Theodore E Madey

Publications and source records attributed to Theodore E Madey.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

Structure sensitivity in the oxidation of CO on Ir surfaces.

We report results on the catalytic oxidation of carbon monoxide (CO) over clean Ir surfaces that are prepared reversibly from the same crystal in situ with different surface morphologies, from planar to nanometer-scale facets of specific crystal orientations and various sizes. Our temperature-programmed desorption (TPD) data show that both planar Ir(210) and faceted Ir(210) are very active for CO oxidation to form CO2. Preadsorbed oxygen promotes the oxidation of CO, whereas high coverages of preadsorbed CO poison the reaction by blocking the surface sites for oxygen adsorption. At low coverages of preadsorbed oxygen (< or = 0.3 ML of O), the temperature Ti for the onset of CO2 desorption decreases with increasing CO coverage. At high coverages of preadsorbed oxygen (> 0.5 ML of O), T(i) is < 330 K and is independent of CO coverage. Moreover, we find clear evidence for structure sensitivity in CO oxidation over clean planar Ir(210) versus that over clean faceted Ir(210): the CO2 desorption rate is sensitive to the surface morphological differences. However, no evidence has been found for size effects in CO oxidation over faceted Ir(210) for average facet size ranging from 5 to 14 nm. Energetically favorable binding sites for O/Ir(210) are characterized using density functional theory (DFT) calculations.

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Coupling of carbon monoxide molecules over oxygen-defected UO2(111) single crystal and thin film surfaces.

While coupling reactions of carbon-containing compounds are numerous in organometallic chemistry, they are very rare on well-defined solid surfaces. In this work we show that the reductive coupling of two molecules of carbon monoxide to C2 compounds (acetylene and ethylene) could be achieved on oxygen-defected UO2(111) single crystal and thin film surfaces. This result allows in situ electron spectroscopic investigation of a typical organometallic reaction such as carbon coupling and extends it to heterogeneous catalysis and solids. By using high-resolution photoelectron spectroscopy (HRXPS) it was possible to track the changes in surface states of the U and O atoms as well as identify the intermediate of the reaction. Upon CO adsorption U cations in low oxidation states are oxidized to U4+ ions; this was accompanied by an increase of the O-to-U surface ratios. The HRXPS C 1s lines show the presence of adsorbed species assigned to diolate species (-OCH=CHO-) that are most likely the reaction intermediate in the coupling of two CO molecules to acetylene and ethylene.

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Decomposition of ammonia and hydrogen on Ir surfaces: structure sensitivity and nanometer-scale size effects.

The adsorption and decomposition of ammonia and hydrogen have been studied on surfaces of clean planar Ir(210) and clean nanoscale-faceted Ir(210), which are prepared from the same crystal in situ. We find evidence for structure sensitivity in recombination and desorption of H2 and in thermal decomposition of NH3 on clean planar Ir(210) versus clean faceted Ir(210). Moreover, the decomposition kinetics of NH3 on faceted Ir(210) exhibit size effects on the nanometer scale, which is the first observation of size effects in surface chemistry on an unsupported monometallic catalyst with controlled and well-defined structure and size.

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Nanoscale surface chemistry.

We report evidence in several experiments for nanometer-size effects in surface chemistry. The evidence concerns bimetallic systems, monolayer films of Pt or Pd on W(111) surfaces. Pyramidal facets with [211] faces are formed on annealing on physical monolayer of Pt, Pd on a W(111) substrate, and facet sizes increase with annealing temperature. We used synchrotron radiation-based soft x-ray photoemission to show that monolayer films of Pt, Pd, on W "float" on the outer surface, whereas multilayer films form alloys on annealing. Acetylene reactions over bimetallic planar and faceted Pd/W surfaces exhibit size effects on the nanometer scale, that is, thermal desorption spectra of reactively formed benzene and ethylene (after acetylene adsorption) change systematically with facet size. In the second case, the decomposition of C(2)H(2) over planar and faceted Ir(210) surfaces also exhibits structure sensitivity; temperature programmed desorption of H(2) from C(2)H(2) dissociation depends on the nanoscale surface structure. Finally, we have characterized interactions of Cu with the highly ordered S(4 x 4)/W(111) surface. The substrate is a sulfur-induced nanoscale reconstruction of W(111) with (4 x 4) periodicity, having broad planar terraces (approximately 30 nm in width). Fractional monolayers of vapor-deposited Cu grow as three dimensional clusters on the S(4 x 4) surface over a wide coverage range. At low Cu coverage (< or = 0.1 ML), Cu nanoclusters nucleate preferentially at characteristic 3-fold hollow sites; we find a clear energetic preference for one type of site over others, and evidence for self-limiting growth of nanoclusters.

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