Active Surfaces for CO Oxidation on Palladium in the Hyperactive State

Hyperactivity was previously observed for CO oxidation over palladium, rhodium, and platinum surfaces under oxygen-rich conditions, characterized by reaction rates 2-3 orders higher than those observed under stoichiometric reaction conditions [Chen et al. Surf. Sci. 2007,601, 5326]. In the present study, the formation of large amounts of CO2 and the depletion of CO at the hyperactive state on both Pd(100) and polycrystalline Pd foil were evidenced by the infrared intensities of the gas phase CO2 and CO, respectively. The active surfaces at the hyperactive state for palladium were characterized using infrared reflection absorption spectroscopy (IRAS, 450-4000 cm(-1)) under the realistic catalytic reaction condition. Palladium oxide on a Pd(100) surface was reduced eventually by CO at 450 K, and also under CO oxidation conditions at 450 K. In situ IRAS combined with isotopic 1802 revealed that the active surfaces for CO oxidation on Pd(100) and Pd foil are not a palladium oxide at the hyperactive state and under oxygen-rich reaction conditions. The results demonstrate that a chemisorbed oxygen-rich surface of Pd is the active surface corresponding to the hyperactivity for CO oxidation on Pd. In the hyperactive region, the CO2 formation rate is limited by the mass transfer of CO to the surface.