Formation and hydrogenation of p(2 × 2)-N on Pt(1 1 1)

The formation of a well-ordered p(2 × 2) overlayer of atomic nitrogen on the Pt(1 1 1) surface and its reaction with hydrogen were characterized with reflection absorption infrared spectroscopy (RAIRS), temperature programmed desorption (TPD), low energy electron diffraction (LEED), Auger electron spectroscopy (AES), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The p(2 × 2)-N overlayer is formed by exposure of ammonia to a surface at 85 K that is covered with 0.44 monolayer (ML) of molecular oxygen and then heating to 400 K. The reaction between ammonia and oxygen produces water, which desorbs below 400 K. The only desorption product observed above 400 K is molecular nitrogen, which has a peak desorption temperature of 453 K. The absence of oxygen after the 400 K anneal is confirmed with AES. Although atomic nitrogen can also be produced on the surface through the reaction of ammonia with an atomic, rather than molecular, oxygen overlayer at a saturation coverage of 0.25 ML, the yield of surface nitrogen is significantly less, as indicated by the N2 TPD peak area. Atomic nitrogen readily reacts with hydrogen to produce the NH species, which is characterized with RAIRS by an intense and narrow (FWHM ∼ 4 cm−1) peak at 3322 cm−1. The areas of the H2 TPD peak associated with NH dissociation and the XPS N 1s peak associated with the NH species indicate that not all of the surface N atoms can be converted to NH by the methods used here.