ATOMIC HYDROGEN-INDUCED DECOMPOSITION OF CHEMISORBED FORMATE AT 100-KON THE RU(001) SURFACE

Atomic hydrogen-induced C-O bond cleavage in chemisorbed formate on th e Ru(001) surface has been investigated with high-resolution electron energy loss spectroscopy. The chemisorbed formate reacts at 100 K with gas-phase atomic hydrogen to produce chemisorbed formyls (eta(1)-HCO and eta(2)-HCO) and hydroxyls, and the hydroxyls react further with th e impinging hydrogen to produce adsorbed water. The observation of the se ''direct'' surface reactions provides strong support for a ''couple d'' reaction mechanism, postulated previously, in which hydrogen from C-H bond cleavage in one formate (which produces CO2) reacts with an a djacent formate to form HCO and OH, resulting in a CO to CO2 ratio of unity in the overall thermal decomposition reaction.