Nucleation and Initial Stages of Growth during the Atomic Layer Deposition of Titanium Oxide on Mesoporous Silica.

A chemical approach to the deposition of thin films on solid surfaces is highly desirable but prone to affect the final properties of the film. To better understand the origin of these complications, the initial stages of the atomic layer deposition of titania films on silica mesoporous materials were characterized. Adsorption-desorption measurements indicated that the films grow in a layer-by-layer fashion, as desired, but initially exhibit surprisingly low densities, about one-quarter of that of bulk titanium oxide. Electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, UV/visible, and X-ray absorption spectroscopy data pointed to the amorphous nature of the first monolayers, and EXAFS and 29Si CP/MAS NMR results to an initial growth via the formation of individual tetrahedral Ti-oxide units on isolated Si-OH surface groups with unusually long Ti-O bonds. Density functional theory calculations were used to propose a mechanism where the film growth starts at the nucleation centers to form an open 2D structure.

Catalytic Oxidation of CO on a Curved Pt(111) Surface: Simultaneous Ignition at All Facets through a Transient CO-O Complex*.

The catalytic oxidation of CO on transition metals, such as Pt, is commonly viewed as a sharp transition from the CO-inhibited surface to the active metal, covered with O. However, we find that minor amounts of O are present in the CO-poisoned layer that explain why, surprisingly, CO desorbs at stepped and flat Pt crystal planes at once, regardless of the reaction conditions. Using near-ambient pressure X-ray photoemission and a curved Pt(111) crystal we probe the chemical composition at surfaces with variable step density during the CO oxidation reaction. Analysis of C and O core levels across the curved crystal reveals that, right before light-off, subsurface O builds up within (111) terraces. This is key to trigger the simultaneous ignition of the catalytic reaction at different Pt surfaces: a CO-Pt-O complex is formed that equals the CO chemisorption energy at terraces and steps, leading to the abrupt desorption of poisoning CO from all crystal facets at the same temperature.

Hydrogenation vs. H-D isotope scrambling during the conversion of ethylene with hydrogen/deuterium catalyzed by platinum under single-collision conditions.

The catalytic hydrogenation of olefins promoted by transition metals, represented here by the conversion of ethylene with platinum, was studied under a unique regime representing pressures in the mTorr range and single-collision conditions. Isotope labeling was used to follow the concurrent H-D exchange steps that occur during this conversion. Multiple isotope substitutions were observed in the resulting ethane products, reflecting the operability of the reversible stepwise mechanism proposed a long time ago by Horiuti and Polanyi. In fact, the ethane isotopologue distributions obtained in these experiments reflect a much higher probability for the dehydrogenation of ethyl intermediates back to the olefin, relative to the hydrogenation to ethane, than typically seen in this catalysis. In addition, a second mechanistic pathway was clearly identified, responsible for most of the dideuteroethane produced. Based on the dependence of the rates of formation of each isotopologue on the fluxes of deuterium and ethylene, it is argued that this second route may be a "reverse" Eley-Rideal step between gas-phase ethylene and two deuterium atoms adsorbed on adjacent sites of the platinum surface. The clear identification of this second pathway is new, and was possible thanks to our ability to explore a new single-collision intermediate pressure regime.

Redox Properties of TiO2 Thin Films Grown on Mesoporous Silica by Atomic Layer Deposition.

The redox properties of titania films grown by ALD on SBA-15, a silica-based mesoporous material, were characterized as a function of thickness (that is, the number of ALD cycles used). 29Si CP/MAS NMR helped to identify the nature of the surface species that form in the initial stages of deposition, and infrared absorption spectroscopy was used to follow the transition from silica to titania surfaces. The reducibility of the titania sites by CO and H2 was studied ex situ using EPR and in situ with ambient-pressure XPS. It was determined that the titania ALD films are amorphous and easier to reduce than crystalline titania and that the reduction is reversible. A transition in the nature of the surface was also observed, with unique mixed Si-O-Ti sites forming during the first few ALD cycles and a more typical titania surface progressively developing as the film grows in thickness.

Near-Unity Reaction Probability in Olefin Hydrogenation Promoted by Heterogeneous Metal Catalysts.

The kinetics of the hydrogenation of ethylene on platinum surfaces was studied by using high-flux effusive molecular beams and reflection-absorption infrared spectroscopy (RAIRS). It was determined that steady-state ethylene conversion with probabilities close to unity could be achieved by using beams with ethylene fluxes equivalent to pressures in the mTorr range and high (≥100) H2:C2H4 ratios. The RAIRS data suggest that the high reaction probability is possible because such conditions lead to the removal of most of the ethylidyne layer known to form during catalysis. The observations from this study are contrasted with those under vacuum, where catalytic behavior is not sustainable, and with catalysis under more realistic atmospheric pressures, where reaction probabilities are estimated to be much lower (≤1 × 10(-5)).