Adsorption states of NO on the Pt(1 1 1) step surface

Using infrared reflection absorption spectroscopy (IRAS) and scanning tunneling microscopy (STM), we investigated the adsorption states of NO on the Pt(9 9 7) step surface. At 90 K, we observe three N–O stretching modes at 1490 cm−1, 1631 cm−1 and 1700 cm−1 at 0.2 ML. The 1490 cm−1 and 1700 cm−1 peaks are assigned to NO molecules at fcc-hollow and on-top sites of the terrace, respectively. The 1631 cm−1 peak is assigned to the step NO species. In the present STM results, we observed that NO molecules were adsorbed at the bridge sites of the step as well as fcc-hollow and on-top sites of the terrace. To help with our assignments, density functional theory calculations were also performed. The calculated results indicate that a bridge site of the step is the most stable adsorption site for NO, and its stretching frequency is 1607 cm−1. The interactions between NO species at different sites on Pt(9 9 7) are also discussed.