Abstract
While coupling reactions of carbon-containing compounds are numerous in organometallic chemistry, they are very rare on well-defined solid surfaces. In this work we show that the reductive coupling of two molecules of carbon monoxide to C-2 compounds (acetylene and ethylene) could be achieved on oxygen-defected UO2(111) single crystal and thin film surfaces. This result allows in situ electron spectroscopic investigation of a typical organometallic reaction such as carbon coupling and extends it to heterogeneous catalysis and solids. By using high-resolution photoelectron spectroscopy (HRYPS) it was possible to track the changes in surface states of the U and 0 atoms as well as identify the intermediate of the reaction. Upon CO adsorption U cations in low oxidation states are oxidized to U4+ ions; this was accompanied by an increase of the O-to-U surface ratios. The HRYPS C 1s lines show the presence of adsorbed species assigned to diolate species (-OCH=CHO-) that are most likely the reaction intermediate in the coupling of two CO molecules to acetylene and ethylene.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 11141-11145 |
Number of pages | 5 |
Journal | Langmuir |
Volume | 21 |
Issue number | 24 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 22 Nov 2005 |
Keywords
- McMurry reaction
- uranium oxides
- CO
- hydrogenation
- formaldehyde
- actinides
- oxidation
- catalysts
- mechanism
- pathways