Segregation dynamics of a Pd-Ag surface during CO oxidation investigated by NAP-XPS

Abstract The dynamic changes in composition in the near surface and surface layers of a Pd75%Ag25%(100) single crystal were monitored using near-ambient pressure x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (NAP-XPS) during CO oxidation reactions under oxygen rich conditions at a total pressure of 1.1 mbar. Six CO oxidation cycles were investigated at different heating rates and maximum temperatures of 450 °C or 600 °C. It was found that the history of the bimetallic sample plays an important role as the CO2 formation profile varies depending on initial conditions, heating rate and maximum heating temperature. In terms of CO coverage effects, normal, reversed and no hysteresis behaviour were all observed. In agreement with previous modelling predictions, the NAP-XPS data confirm a dynamic segregation behaviour upon heating/cooling where the amount of Pd in the surface region decreases with increasing temperature. Nevertheless, the Pd 3d5/2 core level relative area assessment is not fully capable of capturing all the surface dynamics inferred from the temperature dependent CO2 formation profiles, due to the limited probing depth. While residing at ambient temperature in the reaction mixture, however, there is a build-up of adsorbed CO at the surface showing that CO induces segregation of Pd to the topmost surface layer under these conditions. In total, this suggests that the segregation is kinetically relatively facile during temperature cycling, and that adsorbate coverage is the main controlling factor for the surface termination.