Carbon Monoxide‐Induced Dynamic Metal‐Surface Nanostructuring

Abstract

Carbon monoxide is a ubiquitous molecule in surface science, materials chemistry, catalysis and nanotechnology. Its interaction with a number of metal surfaces is at the heart of major processes, such as Fischer-Tropsch synthesis or fuel-cell optimization. Recent works, coupling structural and nanoscale in situ analytic tools have highlighted the ability of metal surfaces and nanoparticles to undergo restructuring after exposure to CO under fairly mild conditions, generating nanostructures. This Minireview proposes a brief overview of recent examples of such nanostructuring, which leads to a discussion about the driving force in reversible and non-reversible situations.

IR-Spectroscopic Study on the Interface of Cu-Based Methanol Synthesis Catalysts: Evidence for the Formation of a ZnO Overlayer

“…The presence of not completely reduced Cu δ+ -CO species cannot be excluded. The results are interpreted in terms of a partial coverage of the copper nano-particles in the Cu/ZnO:Al catalyst by a thin layer of metastable, 1 3 of volatile carbonyls [8] can be prevented by adsorption at liquid nitrogen temperature.…”

The Active State of Supported Ruthenium Oxide Nanoparticles during Carbon Dioxide Methanation

“…While this pressure is still below the typical operating pressure for the Sabatier reaction (1 bar), it is high enough to ensure the saturation of surface sites with adsorbates, thus making the measurement representative of the surface steady state in the catalytic reactor. This was demonstrated on a number of metal and metal oxide catalysts in the past ten years and by several groups, [19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28] and in particular for the reaction of catalytic CO oxidation on bulk ruthenium oxide. 29 It is more challenging but still possible to analyze surface ligands and adsorbates on nanoparticles.…”

Designing Nanoparticles and Nanoalloys with Controlled Surface and Reactivity

“…Metal surfaces exposed to gas such as CO are prone to reconstruct ,. When they contain several elements, overall surface energy as well as the affinity of the elements for the incoming molecules may trigger deep transformations such as atoms migration from buried layers.…”