Use of Photoemission, Auger, and Thermal-Desorption Techniques to Study the Mechanism of a Catalytic Reaction

Abstract
Ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy, Auger, and thermal desorption have been combined to monitor H2O formation on platinum. The reaction probability when oxygen adsorbed on Pt is exposed to H2 was found to be strikingly high—approximately 0.7 oxygen atom removed per incident hydrogen molecule. A reaction mechanism consistent with the data is proposed.