Surface chemistry of CN bond formation from carbon and nitrogen atoms on Pt(111).

The mechanism of CN bond formation from CH3 and NH3 fragments adsorbed on Pt(111) was investigated with reflection absorption infrared spectroscopy (RAIRS), temperature-programmed desorption (TPD), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The surface chemistry of carbon-nitrogen coupling is of fundamental importance to catalytic processes such as the industrial-scale synthesis of HCN from CH4 and NH3 over Pt. Since neither CH4 nor NH3 thermally dissociate on Pt(111) under ultrahigh vacuum (UHV) conditions, the relevant surface intermediates were generated through the thermal decomposition of CH3I and the electron-induced dissociation of NH3. The presence of surface CN is detected with TPD through HCN desorption as well as with RAIRS through the appearance of the vibrational features characteristic of the aminocarbyne (CNH2) species, which is formed upon hydrogenation of surface CN at 300 K. The RAIRS results show that HCN desorption at approximately 500 K is kinetically limited by the formation of the CN bond at this temperature. High coverages of Cads suppress CN formation, but the results are not influenced by the coadsorbed I atoms. Cyanide formation is also observed from the reaction of adsorbed N atoms and carbon produced from the dissociation of ethylene.