Single
crystal adsorption calorimetry on Pt(111) surfaces allows
us to study the influence of different functional groups on heats
of adsorption. At zero coverage we find 103, 194, and 325 kJ/mol for
acetonitrile, benzene, and benzonitrile, respectively. This leads
to the idea of summing up the heats of adsorption of acetonitrile
and benzene, assuming that the total heat of adsorption of benzonitrile
is due to the combined effect of isolated functional groups. This
idea is discussed in light of the recent literature regarding nitrile
adsorption on metal surfaces and further investigated theoretically
by density functional theory. In order to figure out the importance
of dispersive effects on the heats of adsorption, van der Waals corrected
calculations are performed considering different binding modes and
surface reconstructions.