A molecular beam investigation of the oxidation of CO on Pt[9(111)×(100)]

Abstract

The CO oxidation on Pt[9(111)×(100)] was studied by molecular beam relaxation spectroscopy (MBRS). The reaction proceeded via the reaction of adsorbed CO and adsorbed oxygen. No evidence for direct reactive collisions between gaseous CO and adsorbed atomic oxygen was seen. The second order rate constant was measured by linearizing the reaction system to be 10−7 exp{−RT9700 kcal/mole} cm−2 s−1. The relatively low pre-exponential factor was explained by transition state theory on the basis of a high partition function for adsorbed carbon monoxide obtained previously from studies of CO desorption on this surface.