AVS 51st International Symposium
    Surface Science Tuesday Sessions
       Session SS1-TuM

Invited Paper SS1-TuM1
Surface Reactions and Catalysis

Tuesday, November 16, 2004, 8:20 am, Room 210B

Session: Catalytic Reactions: The Role of Surface Steps and Structure
Presenter: G.A. Somorjai, Lawrece Berkeley National Laboratory and University of California, Berkeley
Correspondent: Click to Email
New techniques developed over the past ten years permit the monitoring of surface structure and surface composition at high pressures and at solid-liquid interfaces. Among them sum frequency generation (SFG) vibrational spectroscopy and high pressure scanning tunneling microscopy high pressure (STM) have been used in my laboratory to monitor catalyst surfaces during reaction. C-H bond activation was studied using C6 hydrocarbons, and reaction intermediates that produce branched isomers or benzene on platinum (111) surfaces (both components of high-octane gasoline) were detected by SFG. High pressure STM reveals surface mobility of adsorbates during catalytic hydrogenation and active metal surfaces. Poisoning the reaction by the coadsorption of carbon monoxide also produces ordered surface structures. These studies indicate that diffusional mobility of adsorbates correlates with catalytic activity.