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Updated: Jul 20, 2026

Multiscale Sampling of a Heterogeneous Water/Metal Catalyst Interface using Density Functional Theory and Force-Field Molecular Dynamics
Published on: April 12, 2019
Coverage dependence and hydroperoxyl-mediated pathway of catalytic water formation on Pt (111) surface
1Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 43210, USA.
Abstract:
Hydrogen oxidation on Pt (111) surface is modeled by density functional theory (DFT). Previous DFT calculations showed too large O2 dissociation barriers, but we find them highly coverage dependent: when the coverage is low, dissociation barriers close to experimental values (approximately 0.3 eV) are obtained. For the whole reaction, a new pathway involving hydroperoxyl (OOH) intermediate is found, with the highest reaction barrier of only approximately 0.4 eV. This may explain the experimental observation of catalytic water formation on Pt (111) surface above the H2O desorption temperature of 170 K, despite that the direct reaction between chemisorbed O and H atoms is a highly activated process with barrier approximately 1 eV as previous calculations showed.
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