METHANOL OXIDATION ON (2X1)PT(110) - FORMALDEHYDE ON A STEPPED SURFACE

In 1897 Sabatier and Severins found that methanol could be selectively oxidized to formaldehyde over a platinum catalyst. However, no one ha s since been able to produce a platinum catalyst which showed signific ant selectivity toward formaldehyde production. In this study methanol oxidation on (2 x 1)Pt(110) was examined to see if the (2 x 1)Pt(110) surface showed any unusual selectivity for formaldehyde production. I t is found that when a monolayer of methanol is adsorbed onto a 100 K oxygen covered (2 x 1)Pt(110) sample and then the sample is flashed, p art of the methanol reacts and part desorbs. Up to 35% of the methanol which reacts is oxidized to formaldehyde, with the rest reacting to f orm CO, CO2, hydrogen, water and adsorbed hydrocarbons. By comparison previous workers found that little formaldehyde production is seen dur ing methanol oxidation on Pt(111). This result shows that the (2 x 1)P t(110) surface is more selective than any other face of platinum exami ned so far for oxidation of methanol to formaldehyde. However, the sel ectivity is still low in comparison to the selectivity of Sabatier and Severins' platinum catalyst or of silver.