The reaction of NH 3 with C 2 molecules on a Pt(111) surface was investigated using temperature programmed desorption, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and reflection absorption infrared spectroscopy. Surface C 2 , which was prepared by dissociative adsorption of acetylene (C 2 H 2 ) at 750 K, reacts with NH 3 to form C-N bonds as revealed by the desorption of HCN and C 2 N 2 at 570 and 650 K, respectively. The formation of C-N bonds was also detected with XPS when the NH 3 /C 2 layer was annealed from 85 to 200 K through the appearance of a chemically shifted C 1s peak at 286.5 eV, which is well-resolved from the unreacted C 1s peak at 284.3 eV. Comparison of calculated and experimental RAIRS data indicates that C-N bond formation involves an HCCNH 2 surface intermediate.