Preparation and structural characterization of RuS2 nanoislands on Au(111)

Among all the transition metal sulfides, ruthenium sulfide (RuS2) has been shown to be the most active catalyst for the hydrodesulfuriztion processes. Using X-ray photoemission spectroscopy (XPS) and scanning tunneling microscopy (STM), we have found a novel approach for the preparation of RuS2 nanoislands on an Au(111) substrate. Chemical vapor deposition of Ru3(CO)12 leads to metallic Ru nanoclusters on the gold substrate. Although sulfidation has not been observed on extended Ru (0001) surface, Ru nanoclusters react with S2, forming ruthenium sulfide. While the majority of the sulfide is in the form of nanosized clusters that aggregate into clustered islands, a small fraction of the sulfide is seen as flat islands. When Ru3(CO)12 was deposited on a sulfur-modified gold substrate at elevated temperature, flat islands of ruthenium sulfide are formed exclusively. The flat islands are single-layer RuS2 nanocrystals with a (111) surface termination which exhibits an ordered array of sulfur vacancies. On such RuS2 (111) surfaces, excess sulfur is stable at low temperature and induces surface reconstruction, and desorbs at high temperature. The RuS2(111)/Au system provides an excellent model system for ruthenium sulfide catalysts.