RAIRS studies of CO adsorption on Pd/CeO2−x(1 1 1)/Pt(1 1 1)

Reflection absorption infrared spectroscopy (RAIRS) has been used to investigate the adsorption of CO on CeO2−x-supported Pd nanoparticles at room temperature. The results show that when CeO2−x is initially grown on Pt(1 1 1), a small proportion of the surface remains as bare Pt sites. However, when Pd is deposited onto CeO2−x/Pt(1 1 1), most of the Pd grows directly on top of the CeO2−x(1 1 1). RAIR spectra of CO adsorption on 1 ML Pd/CeO2−x/Pt(1 1 1) show a broad CO–Pd band, which is inconsistent with a single crystal Pd surface. However, the 5 ML and 10 ML Pd/CeO2−x/Pt(1 1 1) spectra show vibrational bands consistent with the presence of Pd(1 1 1) and (1 0 0) faces, suggesting the growth of Pd nanostructures with well defined facets.