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arXiv · 1907.12944

Influence of Local Defects on the Dynamics of O-H Bond Breaking and Formation on a Magnetite Surface

Alexander Bourgund·Barbara A. J. Lechner·Matthias Meier·Cesare Franchini·Gareth S. Parkinson·Ueli Heiz·Friedrich Esch
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Abstract

The transport of H adatoms across oxide supports plays an important role in many catalytic reactions. We investigate the dynamics of H/Fe3O4(001) between 295 and 382 K. By scanning tunneling microscopy at frame rates of up to 19.6 fps, we observe the thermally activated switching of H between two O atoms on neighboring Fe rows. This switching rate changes in proximity to a defect, explained by density functional theory as a distortion in the Fe-O lattice shortening the diffusion path. Quantitative analysis yields an apparent activation barrier of 0.94 +/- 0.07 eV on a pristine surface. The present work highlights the importance of local techniques in the study of atomic-scale dynamics at defective surfaces such as oxide supports.

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Alexander Bourgund, Barbara A. J. Lechner, Matthias Meier, Cesare Franchini, Gareth S. Parkinson, Ueli Heiz, Friedrich Esch. 2019-07-30. Influence of Local Defects on the Dynamics of O-H Bond Breaking and Formation on a Magnetite Surface. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jpcc.9b05547

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