Atomic-Scale Visualization of Heterolytic H₂ Dissociation and CO Hydrogenation on ZnO under Ambient Conditions

Studying catalytic hydrogenation reactions on oxide surfaces at the atomic scale has been challenging because of the typical occurrence of these processes at ambient or elevated pressures, rendering them less accessible to atomic-scale techniques. Here, we report an atomic-scale study on H₂ dissociation and the hydrogenation of CO and CO₂ on ZnO using ambient pressure scanning tunneling microscopy, ambient pressure X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and density functional theory (DFT) calculations. We directly visualized the heterolytic dissociation of H₂ on ZnO(101̅0) under ambient pressure and found that dissociation reaction does not require the assistance of surface defects. The presence of CO or CO₂ on ZnO at 300 K does not impede the availability of surface sites for H₂ dissociation; instead, CO can even enhance the stability of coadsorbed hydride species, thereby facilitating their dissociative adsorption. Our results show that hydride is the active species for hydrogenation, while hydroxyl cannot hydrogenate CO/CO₂ on ZnO. Both AP studies and DFT calculations showed that the hydrogenation of CO₂ on ZnO is thermodynamically and kinetically more favorable compared to that of CO hydrogenation. Our results point toward a two-step mechanism for CO hydrogenation, involving initial oxidation to CO₂ at step sites on ZnO followed by reaction with hydride to form formate. These findings provide molecular insights into the hydrogenation of CO/CO₂ on ZnO and deepen our understanding of syngas conversion and oxide catalysis in general.