Adsorption and reaction of CO and CO2 on oxidized and reduced SrTiO3(100) surfaces

The adsorption and reaction of CO and CO(2) on oxidized and reduced SrTiO(3)(100) surfaces have been studied with temperature programmed desorption (TPD) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). XPS results indicate that the oxidized SrTiO(3)(100) surfaces are nearly defect-free with predominantly Ti(4+) ions whereas the sputter-reduced surfaces contain substantial amounts of defects. Both CO and CO(2) are found to adsorb weakly on the oxidized SrTiO(3)(100) surfaces. On sputter-reduced surfaces, enhanced reactivity of CO and CO(2) is observed due to the presence of oxygen vacancy sites, which are responsible for dissociative adsorption of these molecules. Our studies indicate that the CO and CO(2) molecules exhibit relatively weaker interactions with SrTiO(3)(100) compared to those with TiO(2)(110) and TiO(2)(100) surfaces. This is most likely an influence of the Sr cations on the electronic structure of the Ti cations in the mixed oxide of SrTiO(3).