Atomic structure and catalytic activity of W-modified Ni2P surface alloy by photoelectron diffraction and spectroscopy

Abstract

The surface alloying is the important topics in Ni2P study which is expected for next generation hydrodesulfurization and hydrodenitrogenation catalyst. The atomic structure and catalytic properties of a single crystalline Ni2P surface modified with W (W-Ni2P) was investigated by photoelectron diffraction (PED) and spectroscopy. PED is an element and site selective surface structure analysis method that enables observation of three-dimensional atomic configurations of the surface local structure. The selective replacement of W to the Ni site in the Ni2P crystal was clarified by PED. Chemical reactivities for NO molecules of the W-Ni 2P and the clean Ni2P surfaces were compared. On the clean Ni2P surface, the NO adsorption did not occur, whereas W-Ni 2P surface showed remarkable activity for NO adsorption. © 2014 The Surface Science Society of Japan.