Visualizing Surface-Subsurface Cu Atom Exchange at the FeO/Pt(111) Surface Induced by CO Adsorption at 150 K

Structural evolution of solid catalyst surfaces induced by direct exposure to reaction gas has been extensively studied and is well understood. However, whether and how subsurface atomic structures are affected by the reaction atmosphere require further exploration. In this work, our results confirm that Cu clusters supported on FeO/Pt(111) (Cu/FeO/Pt) transform into surface CuCO complexes (CuCO/FeO/Pt) with exposure to CO at 78 K. Surprisingly, Cu clusters on Pt(111) buried under monolayer FeO film (FeO/Cu/Pt) can also transform into surface CuCO complexes on FeO/Pt(111) upon CO adsorption at 150 K. The place exchange of surface and subsurface Cu atoms at the FeO/Pt(111) surface can be mediated by exposing to CO at 150 K and keeping in ultrahigh vacuum at 300 K, alternatively. Calculation results reveal that CO adsorption induces restructuring of the FeO film above the Cu clusters, generating a diffusion channel for Cu atoms to pass through the FeO film and form surface CuCO, while Cu atoms remaining at the FeO-Pt interface are more thermodynamically favored without CO. Our work suggests that buried subsurface atoms may be involved in strong restructuring processes driven by reaction gas, which could strongly influence the catalytic performance.