Model oxide-supported metal catalysts: energetics,particle thicknesses,chemisorption and catalytic properties

Many industrially important catalysts consist of late transition metal particles supported on the surfaces of oxide materials. Our studies of such systems using model catalysts consisting of metal films vapor deposited onto the surfaces of single-crystalline oxides are reviewed here. Systems studied include Cu on ZnO, Pt on ZnO, Au on TiO₂ and Cu, Ag and Pb on MgO. A unique adsorption microcalorimeter was developed to measure directly the energetic stability of the metal atoms on the oxide surfaces and the adhesion energy at the metal/oxide interface, which clarify the structural and chemisorption properties of the ultrathin metal particles. The structure of the oxide surface and the metal particles was elucidated by low-energy electron diffraction (LEED), low-energy ion scattering spectroscopy (ISS), angular-resolved X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and X-ray photoelectron diffraction (XPD). The electronic character of the metal particles was revealed by XPS, Auger electron spectroscopy (AES), band-bending and work function measurements. Sintering rates were measured by temperature-programmed ion scattering spectroscopy (TPISS). The chemisorption properties of these particles and their catalytic reactivity were monitored by mass spectroscopy and temperature-programmed desorption (TPD).