We address the adsorption of water on Pt(111) using x-ray absorption, x-ray emission, and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy along with calculations in the framework of density functional theory. Using the direct relationship between the electronic structure and adsorbate geometry, we show that in the first layer all the molecules bind directly to the surface and to each other through the in-layer H bonds without dissociation, creating a nearly flat overlayer. The water molecules are adsorbed through alternating metal-oxygen (M-O) and metal-hydrogen (M-HO) bonds.

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The atom and symmetry specific properties of x-ray emission spectroscopy have been applied to the investigation of CO adsorbed on Ni(100) and Cu(100) surfaces. In comparison to ab initio electronic structure calculations, obtained in density functional theory, we develop a consistent electronic structure model of CO adsorption on transition and noble metals and extend to a conceptual model of the surface chemical bond. A strong CO–substrate interaction is found, characterized by significant hybridization of the initial CO orbitals and the metal bands. In the π system an allylic configuration is found as the result of orbital mixing between the CO 1π, 2π* and the metal dπ-band which is manifested experimentally in the observation of an oxygen lone-pair state. In the σ system experimental evidence of equally strong orbital mixing has been found. Energetically, the adsorbate–substrate complex is stabilized by the π-interaction but is destabilized by the σ-interaction. Furthermore, the internal C–O bond carried by the π-interaction is weakened upon adsorption, which is opposite for the internal C–O σ bond that is strengthened. The equilibrium properties of CO adsorbed on these metals are found to be the direct result of the balance between the σ- and π-interactions; both in terms of the total energy and the local bond properties.