The adsorption of CO2 gas on the MgO (100) crystal surface is investigated using grand canonical Monte Carlo simulations. This allows us to obtain adsorption isotherms that can be compared with experiment, as well as to explore the possible formation of monolayers of different densities. Our model calculations agree reasonably well with the available experimental results. We find a "low-density" adsorbed monolayer where each CO2 molecule is bound to two Mg2+ ions on the MgO substrate. We also observe the formation of monolayers of higher density, where some of the CO2 molecules have rotated and tilted to expose additional binding sites. Low-temperature simulations of both the low- and high-density monolayers reveal that these states are very close in energy, with binding energies of approximately 7 kcal/mol at T=5 K. The high-density monolayer given by our model has a density that is significantly less than the reported experimental value. We discuss this discrepancy and offer suggestions for resolving it.

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Monte Carlo simulations of CO/MgO(001) show that below 41 K the CO molecules form a c(4×2) structure with six molecules per unit cell distributed into two kinds of adsorption sites: a perpendicular site and a tilted site (polar angle of 31°). Both sites are localized near Mg2+ ions. The occupancy of perpendicular sites to tilted sites occurs in the ratio of 1:2. At 41 K the c(4×2) phase undergoes a phase transition into a less dense, disordered phase accompanied by the expulsion of some molecules to form a partial second layer. The density of the remaining disordered layer is the same as for a p(3×2) phase and portions of the disordered layer show regions of short range ordering with either the c(4×2) or p(3×2) structures. The p(3×2) phase contains four molecules per unit cell and also consists of perpendicular and tilted sites, but in the ratio of 1:1. This structure was found to be stable up to 50 K after which the expulsion of some molecules and disordering of the layer occurred. A model to test the relative stability of these two phases by examining the difference in Gibbs free energy is constructed and shows that below 41 K the c(4×2) phase is the most stable but above 41 K the p(3×2) phase is the most stable. However, at low pressures the model suggests that the p(3×2) phase will not be observed and the layer will instead transform from the c(4×2) phase to a disordered phase at 41 K. This result reconciles the findings of low-energy electron diffraction (LEED) experiments [p(3×2) phase observed] with those of helium atom scattering (HAS) and polarization infrared spectroscopy (PIRS) experiments (disordered phase observed). It is proposed that the c(4×2)→p(3×2) transition is part of an infinite sequence of transitions involving (n×2)-type structures which, under suitable conditions of temperature and pressure, constitutes an example of the devil’s staircase phenomenon. Such a phenomenon has been suggested by previous LEED experiments.

Monte Carlo simulations of N 2 molecules physisorbed on a NaCl͑001͒ surface show that at low temperature a monolayer forms an ordered p(2ϫ1) structure which, upon heating, undergoes a continuous order-disorder phase transition around 25 K. This transition is characterized by a logarithmically divergent heat capacity and the formation of pairs of counter rotating vortices.

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