AVS 59th Annual International Symposium and Exhibition
    Surface Science Tuesday Sessions
       Session SS-TuM

Paper SS-TuM10
Adsorption and Diffusion of Acetone on Rutile TiO2 (110)

Tuesday, October 30, 2012, 11:00 am, Room 21

Session: Surface Reactivity of Oxides
Presenter: Z. Zhang, Baylor University
Authors: B. Zhang, Baylor University
Y. Xia, Baylor University
J. Ye, Southern Illinois University Carbondale
Q. Ge, Southern Illinois University Carbondale
Z. Zhang, Baylor University
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Understanding the surface reaction processes of acetone on metal oxide surfaces is important for photo-oxidation of toxic organic molecules. We have studied the adsorption and the diffusion of acetone on reduced rutile TiO2(110) surfaces using variable temperature scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). At room temperature (RT) acetone molecules prefer to adsorb on bridging-bonded oxygen vacancy sites. The sequential isothermal STM images show that acetone molecules are mobile at RT. They hop between unoccupied vacancy sites via both apparent along-row diffusion and apparent cross-row diffusion processes. Images obtained at temperatures below RT show that there are two barriers involved in these diffusion processes: (1) the diffusion barrier along the Ti row, and (2) the barrier from the vacancy site to the neighboring Ti row. The latter is the rate limiting step. DFT calculations agree with experimental results.