Nonthermal Plasma Activation of Adsorbates: The Case of CO on Pt

Title	Nonthermal Plasma Activation of Adsorbates: The Case of CO on Pt
Authors	Minseok Kim, Sohag Biswas, Isabel Barraza Alvarez, Phillip Christopher, Bryan M. Wong, Lorenzo Mangolini
Magazine	JACS Au
Date	07/12/2024
DOI	10.1021/jacsau.4c00309
Introduction	Nonthermal plasmas offer an innovative method for electrically driven heterogeneous catalytic processes. Although there is considerable interest in this field, the fundamental activation mechanisms remain largely unclear. This study examines how an argon plasma environment influences the desorption of carbon monoxide (CO) from platinum nanoparticles. Temperature-programmed desorption reveals that plasma exposure significantly lowers the effective binding energy (BE) of CO to Pt surfaces by up to approximately 0.3 eV, with the BE reduction scaling linearly with plasma density. The most pronounced reduction occurs at under-coordinated sites, such as steps and edges, compared to well-coordinated sites such as terraces. Density functional theory calculations indicate that plasma-induced surface charging and electric fields primarily affect under-coordinated sites, providing direct experimental proof of plasma-induced nonthermal activation of the adsorbate-catalyst interaction.
Quote	Minseok Kim, Sohag Biswas and Isabel Barraza Alvarez et al. Nonthermal Plasma Activation of Adsorbates: The Case of CO on Pt. JACS Au. 2024. DOI: 10.1021/jacsau.4c00309
Element	Argon (Ar) , Carbon (C) , Platinum (Pt)
Materials	Nanocomposites