The
thermodynamics of the adsorption of carbon monoxide on a copper-based
catalyst were estimated by using data from in situ infrared absorption spectroscopy experiments. A direct comparison
was performed between the energetics under a vacuum environment versus
in the presence of CO gas. It was found that the magnitude of the
enthalpy of adsorption is reduced by almost a factor of 4 in going
from the first case to the second, from ΔH°ads,vacuum = −82 kJ/mol to ΔH°ads,CO‑atm = −21 kJ/mol. Furthermore,
isosteric analysis of the data indicated that the magnitude of the
latter decreases in the low-coverage limit, to values below ΔH°ads,CO‑atm = −18 kJ/mol,
a trend opposite to what has been reported in other systems. These
observations are explained in terms of the associated standard entropy
of adsorption, which in the presence of gas-phase CO was estimated
at ΔS°ads,CO‑atm ∼
−24 J/(mol K), a value much smaller in magnitude than the standard
entropy of CO condensation. The excess entropy of CO adsorption over
that of CO condensation is here ascribed to excess entropy in the
adsorbed state due to additional phenomena induced by the gas-phase
molecules such as adsorbate displacement and adsorbate-assisted adsorption
steps.