The adsorption and decomposition of dimethyl methylphosphonate
(DMMP) have been examined on four
different metal oxide surfaces: aluminum oxide, magnesium oxide,
lanthanum oxide, and iron oxide.
Aluminum, magnesium, and lanthanum oxides are observed to behave
in much the same way, with initial
binding of the PO species to the surface at an acid site, followed
by stepwise elimination of the methoxy
groups, beginning at temperatures as low as 50 °C, which combine with
surface hydrogens to yield methanol
that evolves from the surface. The final product observed for
these oxides is a surface-bound methylphosphonate, with the P−CH3 bond intact, which is resistant to
further oxidation even in the presence of 70 Torr
of oxygen at 300−400 °C. Adsorption on iron oxide yields a
different sequence of events, with the initial
adsorption occurring again with the PO moiety binding to an acid
site, although there is some indication of
the formation of a second type of surface complex. The primary
interaction on iron oxide appears to be
much stronger than with the other oxides, and probably involves the
unidentate coordination of the DMMP
to a Lewis acid site on the surface. Nonselective elimination of
both the methoxy and the phosphorus-bound
methyl groups begins only after heating above 200 °C, but occurs with
total elimination of the methyl and
methoxy groups observed after heating above 300 °C in vacuum.
The ease with which iron oxide cleaves
the P−CH3 bond is attributed to the availability of
multiple oxidation states to the iron atom.
Participation
of the Fe(III)/Fe(II) redox couple in the reaction provides a
low-energy path for oxidative cleavage of the
P−CH3 bond. The other oxide surfaces cannot provide
a similar path, and on these surfaces the
P−CH3
bond is resistant to cleavage. The use of infrared diffuse
reflectance techniques, observing, in particular, the
methyl stretch region of the infrared spectrum, has allowed the almost
complete characterization of the
decomposition processes which occur after DMMP adsorbs on aluminum
oxide, magnesium oxide, lanthanum
oxide, and iron oxide.