Hot atom chemistry: oxygen at stepped platinum surfaces

29 December 2021, Version 1
This content is a preprint and has not undergone peer review at the time of posting.

Abstract

It is a paradigm in chemistry that chemical reaction are mainly governed by thermodynamics. Within this assumption, reaction rates can be derived from transition state theory which requires a quasi-equilibrium between reactants and activated transition state complexes that is achieved through friction. However, to reach thermal equilibrium through friction takes some time. Here we show, based on ab initio molecular dynamics simulations of the interaction of molecular oxygen with stepped Pt surfaces, that chemical reactions in heterogeneous catalysis can occur in a non-equilibrium fashion when the excess kinetic energy upon entering the potential well of a reaction intermediate is large enough.

Keywords

hot atom dynamics
density functional theory
ab initio molecular dynamics simulations
oxygen
platinum
dissociative adsorption

Comments

Comments are not moderated before they are posted, but they can be removed by the site moderators if they are found to be in contravention of our Commenting Policy [opens in a new tab] - please read this policy before you post. Comments should be used for scholarly discussion of the content in question. You can find more information about how to use the commenting feature here [opens in a new tab] .
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy [opens in a new tab] and Terms of Service [opens in a new tab] apply.