INFRARED-SPECTROSCOPY OF CO ADSORBED ON HYDROCARBON-COVERED MO(100)

The adsorption of CO at high pressures (up to 120 Torr) on a hydrocarb on-precovered Mo(100) surface is studied by reflection-absorption infr ared spectroscopy (RAIRS). It is shown that CO adsorbs reversibly on t he Mo(100) surface even in the presence of a thick (similar to C-8) ca rbonaceous layer and forms a saturation coverage of about 20% of that on clean Mo(100). Although CO is used as a probe molecule, this result confirms that, under high pressure, the reactants still can adsorb on the catalyst in spite of the presence of a thick carbonaceous layer f ormed under the reaction conditions.