Catalytic CO oxidation on unreconstructed Cu(110) observed at low temperatures

CO oxidation on Cu(110) between 150 and 250 K was studied by a mass spectrometer, AES, LEED and HREELS. It was found that catalytic CO oxidation proceeded on an unreconstructed Cu(110) between 200 and 230 K, while the reaction below 180 K halted in a short time. The (2 × 1)-O phase produced under the reaction conditions above 200 K was not reactive and its growth caused a decrease in the number of clean sites, leading to inhibition of the reaction. From the analysis of the CO2 production profiles the activation energy of the COO2 reaction was found to be 34.8 kJ/mol.