CO Oxidation on Pt(110): Scanning Tunneling Microscopy Inside a High-Pressure Flow Reactor

Abstract

We have used a novel, high-pressure high-temperature scanning tunneling microscope, which is set up as a flow reactor, to determine simultaneously the surface structure and the reactivity of a Pt(110) model catalyst at semirealistic reaction conditions for CO oxidation. By controlled switching from a CO-rich to an [Formula presented]-rich flow and vice versa, we can reversibly oxidize and reduce the platinum surface. The formation of the surface oxide has a dramatic effect on the [Formula presented] production rate. Our results show that there is a strict one-to-one correspondence between the surface structure and the catalytic activity, and suggest a reaction mechanism which is not observed at low pressures. © 2002 The American Physical Society.