Different acoustic wave effects of thickness extension and thickness shear mode resonance oscillation on ethanol decomposition over Pd catalysts deposited on poled ferroelectric LiNbO3 single crystals

The vibration mode effects of resonance oscillation (RO) on ethanol decomposition over thin Pd film catalysts were studied using thickness shear mode RO (TSRO) and thickness extension mode RO (TERO). The TSRO accelerated neither ethylene nor acetaldehyde productions, whereas the TERO increased selectivity for ethylene production dramatically. Laser Doppler method showed that the TSRO caused small vertical lattice displacement, which contrasted to large vertical lattice displacement of the TERO. Photoelectron emission spectra showed clear differences in threshold energy shifts between TSRO and TERO: the TSRO induced little threshold energy shift, but the TERO caused marked positive shifts. A mechanism of catalyst activation due to the lattice vibration modes is discussed.