Hh. Hwu et al., Potential application of tungsten carbides as electrocatalysts. 1. Decomposition of methanol over carbide-modified W(111), J PHYS CH B, 105(41), 2001, pp. 10037-10044
The decomposition of methanol over clean and carbide-modified W(111) is stu
died by using temperature-programmed desorption (TPD), high-resolution elec
tron energy loss spectroscopy (HREELS), and Auger electron spectroscopy (AE
S). The chemistry of methanol on unmodified W(111) is predominantly complet
e decomposition to produce atomic carbon and H-2, with slightly less than 1
5% of the adsorbed methanol dissociating to form CO, CH4, and H-2. Once the
W(111) surface is carbide-modified, however, the most dominant reaction pa
thway is still the complete decomposition of CH3OH at similar to 55%, but w
ith significantly more CO and CH4 desorbing as gas-phase products. If the c
arbide surface is further modified with oxygen, the activity toward the pro
duction of CO is further enhanced and becomes the dominant pathway, while t
he yield of gas-phase CH4 is slighted reduced compared to the unmodified C/
W(111) surface. These results will be compared to the activity of Pt group
metal surfaces to explore the potential application of using tungsten carbi
des as an alternative to Pt group metal electrodes in fuel cells.