Dissertation

Steps in gas-surface reactions

Heterogeneous catalysis is essential to many industrial applications. These catalysts are often comprised of supported nanoparticles, which contain various different surface sites.

Author: Lent, R. van
Date: 16 December 2019
Links: Thesis in Leiden Repository

Heterogeneous catalysis is essential to many industrial applications. These catalysts are often comprised of supported nanoparticles, which contain various different surface sites. For some reactions, the presence of specific surface sights dominates the overall reactivity. Fundamental insight into the influence of different surface sites on the surface reaction dynamics may lead to better catalyst design in the future. In this thesis, we combine ultra-high vacuum techniques and (curved) single crystal surfaces to study surface structure effects relevant to heterogeneous catalysis. We study how step edges on a platinum surface affect (elementary) reactions that occur in oxygen reduction: hydrogen dissociation, hydrogen recombination, and oxygen reduction.