CO and O2 chemisorption on Pd70Au30(110) : evolution of the surface studied by in situ STM and complementary surface analysis techniques at elevated pressures

Elevated pressure in situ STM studies were crucial to show that CO adsorption on gold surfaces strongly modifies their surface structures [1–3]. However oxygen dissociation does not occur spontaneously on such surfaces preventing efficient CO oxidation. The addition of an oxygen-dissociative metal (such as Pd) to gold may overcome this difficulty. In this work we present results concerning the behaviour of Pd70Au30(110) under elevated pressures of CO and O2 and compare them to the results obtained on Au(110) under similar conditions.