The surface chemistry of cycloalkanes and cycloalkyl intermediates
on Pt−Sn alloys is important to the
function of selective hydrocarbon conversion catalysts, yet very little
is known about this chemistry because
cycloalkane decomposition is strongly suppressed under UHV conditions
on Pt−Sn alloys and there are
few other clean sources of these intermediates. Low-energy,
electron-induced dissociation (EID) in
multilayers of saturated hydrocarbons produces rather cleanly reactive
intermediates formed by the selective
cleavage of one C−H bond. This method was used to activate
C5−C8 cycloalkane multilayers and
prepare
monolayer coverages of cycloalkyl species on Pt(111) and two
well-defined Pt−Sn alloy surfacesthe p(2×2)Sn/Pt(111) and (√3×√3)R30°Sn/Pt(111) surface
alloys formed by vapor deposition of Sn on a Pt(111)
substrate. EID of the multilayers and subsequent thermal reactions
of the intermediates on these surfaces
were investigated by temperature-programmed desorption (TPD), Auger
electron spectroscopy (AES), and
low-energy electron diffraction (LEED). Adsorbed cycloalkyl
species dehydrogenate facilely on both alloy
surfaces, but alloying with Sn weakens the bonding to the surface of
the cycloalkenes formed and strongly
suppresses cycloalkene dehydrogenation. This chemistry leads to a
much higher selectivity for the evolution
of gas-phase cycloalkenes from the dehydrogenation of cycloalkyl
intermediates compared to that on Pt(111).