CO on Supported Cu Nanoclusters: Coverage and Finite Size Contributions to the Formation of Carbide via the Boudouard Process

JIMENA A. OLMOS ASAR; ENRICO MONACHINO; CARLO DRI; ANGELO PERONIO; CRISTINA AFRICH; PAOLO LACOVIG; GIOVANNI COMMELLI; A. BALDERESCHI; MARIA PERESSI; ERIK VESSELLI

ACS Catalysis

ACS

Lugar: New York; Año: 2015 vol. 5 p. 2719 - 2726

2155-5435

The interaction of carbon monoxide with an ordered array of copper nanoclusters was investigated under ultrahigh vacuum conditions by means of in situ X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy in combination with density functional theory calculations. The Cu clusters were supported on an alumina template grown on the Ni3Al(111) termination. Adsorption and dissociation of carbon monoxide occur at the copper clusters, yielding accumulation of carbidic carbon at the metal particles through the Boudouard process. The involved mechanisms are investigated at the atomic level, unveiling the effects of cluster finite size, reconstruction, support, and of local CO coverage. It is found that the high coverage of CO at the cluster surface, which considerably exceeds that achievable on single crystal surfaces, facilitates the metal restructuring and the reaction, yielding carbon incorporation into the bulk of the particles.