The thermodynamics and kinetics of the surface hydrogenation of adsorbed atomic carbon to methane, following the reaction sequence C+4H(-->/<--)CH+3H(-->/<--)CH(2)+2H(-->/<--)CH(3)+H(-->/<--)CH(4), are studied on Fe(100) by means of density functional theory. An assessment is made on whether the adsorption energies and overall energy profile are affected when zero-point energy (ZPE) corrections are included. The C, CH and CH(2) species are most stable at the fourfold hollow site, while CH(3) prefers the twofold bridge site. Atomic hydrogen is adsorbed at both the twofold bridge and fourfold hollow sites. Methane is physisorbed on the surface and shows neither orientation nor site preference. It is easily desorbed to the gas phase once formed. The incorporation of ZPE corrections has a very slight, if any, effect on the adsorption energies and does not alter the trends with regards to the most stable adsorption sites. The successive addition of hydrogen to atomic carbon is endothermic up to the addition of the third hydrogen atom resulting in the methyl species, but exothermic in the final hydrogenation step, which leads to methane. The overall methanation reaction is endothermic when starting from atomic carbon and hydrogen on the surface. Zero-point energy corrections are rarely provided in the literature. Since they are derived from C-H bonds with characteristic vibrations on the order of 2500-3000 cm(-1), the equivalent ZPE of 1/2 hν is on the order of 0.2-0.3 eV and its effect on adsorption energy can in principle be significant. Particularly in reactions between CH(x) and H, the ZPE correction is expected to be significant, as additional C-H bonds are formed. In this instance, the methanation reaction energy of +0.77 eV increased to +1.45 eV with the inclusion of ZPE corrections, that is, less favourable. Therefore, it is crucial to include ZPE corrections when reporting reactions involving hydrogen-containing species.

The formation of water by hydrogenation of atomic oxygen is studied using density functional theory. Atomic oxygen preferentially adsorbs at the four-fold hollow site, the hydroxyl group prefers the bridge site in a tilted configuration, and water is most stable when adsorbed at the top site with the two O-H bonds parallel to the Fe surface. Water formation by the hydrogenation of oxygen is a highly activated process on the Fe(100) surface, with similar activation energies, in the order of 1.1 eV, for the first and second hydrogen additions. A more favourable route for the addition of the second hydrogen atom involves the disproportionation of hydroxyl groups to form water and adsorbed oxygen. Dissociation of the OH is also likely since the activation energy is similar to that for disproportionation of 0.65 eV. Furthermore, the results show that the dissociation of water on Fe(100) is a non-activated process: 0.16 eV for the zero-coverage limit and 0.03 eV when surface oxygen is present. Herein, adsorption energies, structures and vibrational frequencies are presented for several adsorption states at 0.25 ML coverage, as well as the potential energy surface for water formation on Fe(100).

Sulfur is known to be a poison to several catalytic reactions, e.g., the Fischer-Tropsch synthesis (FTS), in which it affects drastically the performance of both iron- and cobalt-based catalysts. However, despite the importance of this industrial process, little is known about what elementary steps are poisoned by sulfur. In the present article, we report, using density functional theory, the effect of sulfur on one of the most relevant reactions in the FTS: the dissociation of carbon monoxide over iron surfaces. We have studied the adsorption and dissociation of CO on Fe(100)-S-p(2 x 2) (theta(S) = 0.25 ML) and on Fe(100)-S-c(2 x 2) (theta(S) = 0.50 ML). We have found surface configurations that correlate well with the desorption features observed in temperature-programmed desorption mass spectroscopy. In addition, we have calculated the activation energy of CO dissociation on Fe(100)-S-p(2 x 2), which, interestingly, is very similar to the activation energy of CO dissociation on the sulfur-free Fe(100) surface. However, the sign of the reaction changes by the presence of sulfur; CO dissociation is highly exothermic on the sulfur-free Fe(100) surface, whereas on the Fe(100)-S-p(2 x 2) surface, it is slightly endothermic. Moreover, according to our results, the influence of sulfur in the CO dissociation seems to be short-ranged.