A molecular beam investigation of the catalytic oxidation of CO on Pd (111)

A detailed investigation of the steady-state and nonsteady-state reaction CO+1/2O2→CO2 on Pd (111) has been carried out with the molecular beam technique. It could be shown conclusively that the reaction proceeds between two adsorbed species (Langmuir-Hinshelwood mechanism) throughout the temperature and pressure range investigated. For low CO coverages, the activation energy of the reaction was determined to be 25 kcal/mole, whereas at moderate CO coverages, a rearrangement of the oxygen adlayer takes place resulting in a reduction of the activation energy to 14 kcal/mole. It is not possible to formulate a simple kinetic expression for the reaction rate which is valid over the entire range of temperatures and pressures due to changes in the adsorption rate for O2, coadsorption of CO and O2, to diffusion in the adlayer, and to changes in the geometrical arrangement within the adlayer with varying coverage. © 1978 American Institute of Physics.