A TPD and NIXSW investigation of furan and tetrahydrofuran adsorption on Cu(1 1 1)

Normal incidence X-ray standing wavefield absorption (NIXSW) and temperature programmed desorption (TPD) have been used to study the bonding of both furan and tetrahydrofuran (THF) on Cu(1 1 1). THF was found to adopt an atop adsorption site, with furan adopting a displaced atop position. We attribute this displacement to the effects of adsorbate–adsorbate interactions, the magnitude of which are significant compared to the strength of the furan to copper interaction. The adsorption of THF is significantly stronger than that of furan, which we propose is due to the influence of C–H⋯Cu interactions between THF and the copper surface.