| AVS 64th International Symposium & Exhibition | |
| Fundamental Discoveries in Heterogeneous Catalysis Focus Topic | Thursday Sessions |
| Session HC+SS-ThA |
| Session: | Combined Experimental and Theoretical Explorations of the Dynamics of Heterogeneously Catalyzed Reactions |
| Presenter: | David Payne, Imperial College London, UK |
| Authors: | A. Regoutz, Imperial College London, UK G. Kerherve, Imperial College London, UK J.M. Kahk, Imperial College London, UK J. Lischner, Imperial College London, UK D.J. Payne, Imperial College London, UK |
| Correspondent: | Click to Email |
CO2 is a source for the production of carbon based fuels, including methanol, and presents an attractive alternative to fossil fuels. Copper is an ideal catalyst for the reduction of CO2, as it is able to direct reactions through stable intermediates, e.g. CO. For example important questions concern the influence of oxygen on the catalytic activity and whether oxides are formed on the surface, and the role of H2O and CO (as co-adsorbents) during exposure to CO2. As copper-based systems are an excellent material for the reduction of CO2 a detailed understanding of the basis of its catalytic activity is essential and absolutely necessary for any further development.
X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) is used widely in solid-state science but due to its nature as an ultra high vacuum technique (pressure 10-10 mbar) it is not possible to study more realistic gas-solid interfaces. High-pressure XPS (HPXPS) is an advanced method which allows the measurement of solid samples at elevated pressures of between 1 and 30 mbar [1]. Over the last few years, this technique has been applied to understanding the chemistry of CO2 (and mixtures of gases) on copper surfaces [2-4] leading to a number of surface mechanisms being postulated.
This work presents results on the interaction of CO2 with a variety of Cu surfaces (polycrystalline and single-crystals) by HPXPS. In contrast to previously published work, these experiments are supported by state-of-the-art density functional theory calculations, in an effort to enable accurate determinations of the binding energies of the various surface-bound species present during reaction.
It is hoped that the presented results provide a starting point for the detailed understanding of these copper surfaces, using HPXPS in conjunction with theory, and lead to the identification unknown phenomena.
[1] G. Kerherve, D.J. Payne et al., Rev. Sci. Instrum., 88 033102 (2017)
[2] T. Koitaya at al. Topics in Catalysis, 59 526 (2016)
[3] B. Eren et al. J. Am. Chem. Soc., 138, 8207 (2016)
[4] X. Deng et al., Langmuir, 24, 9474 (2008)