Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) in conjunction with
mass spectroscopy (MS) has been utilized
to investigate the adsorption and hydrogenation of carbon monoxide on
polycrystalline rhodium surfaces.
The SERS-active Rh substrates were prepared by electrodeposition
of ultrathin films on electrochemically
roughened gold and display remarkably robust SERS activity over a wide
range of temperatures (up to 400
°C) and pressures (here up to 1 atm). The SER spectra reveal
that CO adsorbed primarily on atop sites
(νRh
-
C = 470
cm-1) and desorbed by about 250−300 °C
under all gas-phase conditions examined. Partial
dissociation of the CO adlayer, however, was obtained at temperatures
as low as 100 °C, most likely facilitated
by the large number of steps and kinks present on these roughened
surfaces. This was evidenced by a partial
removal of CO at temperatures (ca 100 °C) well below those expected
for thermal desorption (200−250 °C)
and supported by the observed formation of surface carbonate (665
cm-1) under these conditions. The
CO
dissociation, however, is hampered at lower temperatures (<200 °C)
when gas-phase H2 and/or CO are present,
most likely due to blocking of site ensembles necessary for
decomposition to proceed. Interestingly, heating
a CO adlayer in pure H2 resulted in the formation of an
adsorbed oxygen species (νRh
-
O
= 295 cm-1) at
temperatures above 250 °C. The CO hydrogenation reaction was
examined over a wide range of gas-phase
conditions (H2:CO = 99:1 to 4:1 at 1 atm), with methane
being the only hydrocarbon product detectable with
MS. In addition to the presence of adsorbed CO observed up to 250
°C under all H2/CO reaction ratios, the
adsorbed oxygen species noted above was detected at higher temperatures
(>250 °C) when a low percentage
of CO (≤1%) in the feed reactant stream was used. The influence
of the adsorbed species on the overall
methanation rates is discussed in light of these findings.
Utilizing the seconds time-scale resolution of SERS,
the exchange between gas-phase and adsorbed CO was also studied.
The results of such transient
13CO/12CO
exchange experiments reveal that this desorption pathway is weakly
activated (≈1 kcal mol-1), first
order
with respect to CO coverage, yet independent of CO partial pressure in
the regime studied (8−760 Torr).
This contrasts the first-order pressure dependence for much lower
CO partial pressures (≤10-5 Torr)
reported
earlier in the literature. A rate law and mechanism are proposed
which account for these differences and
rationalize the observed behavior.