| AVS 58th Annual International Symposium and Exhibition | |
| Surface Science Division | Wednesday Sessions |
| Session SS-WeA |
| Session: | Adsorption & Reactions on Oxide Surfaces |
| Presenter: | Richard Kurtz, Louisiana State University |
| Authors: | Z. Zhang, Louisiana State University F. Wang, Louisiana State University M. Le, Louisiana State University M. Ren, Louisiana State University J. Flake, Louisiana State University P. Sprunger, Louisiana State University R. Kurtz, Louisiana State University |
| Correspondent: | Click to Email |
Cu and Cu-oxide nanoclusters supported on ZnO are prototypical catalysts for the electrochemical reduction of CO and CO2 to methanol. In this report we describe the interaction of CO and CO2 with Cu oxide nanoclusters on ZnO(1010) with a combination of surface sensitive tools including STM for structural information, EELS for electronic and vibrational studies as well as synchrotron-based photoemission for electronic properties. Cu is deposited onto ZnO and oxidized with a combination of O-exposure and annealing procedures to result in two distinct Cu-oxide (CuI and CuII) clusters, which preferentially nucleate and grow at step edges. Photoemission shows a large charge transfer between the oxide cluster and the substrate surface as well as significant band bending. It is believed that the CO2 adsorption, forming a carbonate species, and consequent reduction, is coupled to the induced defects and electronic perturbation of the CuOx/ZnO nanoclusters, absent in the case of Cu/ZnO nanoclusters. In addition to vibrational EELS and TDS to characterize the adsorption of the CO and CO2 adsorption species, similar results from Au on ZnO(1010), which shows a lack of cluster formation growth, will be compared and contrasted.
This material is based upon work supported as part of the Center for Atomic Level Catalyst Design, an Energy Frontier Research Center funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, Office of Basic Energy Sciences under Award Number DE-SC0001058