Surface Chemistry of Alanine on Ni{111}

DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcc.5b08814

Authors: Richard E. J. Nicklin (University of Reading) , Alix Cornish (University of Reading) , Andrey Shavorskiy (University of Reading) , Silvia Baldanza (University of Reading) , Karina Schulte (Lund University) , Zhi Liu (Advanced Light Source) , Roger A. Bennett (University of Reading) , Georg Held (Diamond Light Source)
Co-authored by industrial partner: No

Type: Journal Paper
Journal: The Journal Of Physical Chemistry C , VOL 119 (47) , PAGES 26566 - 26574

State: Published (Approved)
Published: November 2015

Abstract: The adsorption of l-alanine on Ni{111} has been studied as a model of enantioselective heterogeneous catalysts. Synchrotron-based X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and near-edge X-ray absorption fine structure (NEXAFS) spectroscopy were used to determine the chemical state, bond coordination, and out-of-plane orientation of the molecule on the surface. Alanine adsorbs in anionic and zwitterionic forms between 250 and ≈320 K. NEXAFS spectra exhibit a strong angular dependence of the π* resonance associated with the carboxylate group, which is compatible with two distinct orientations with respect to the surface corresponding to the bidentate and tridentate binding modes. Desorption and decomposition begin together at ≈300 K, with decomposition occurring in a multistep process up to ≈450 K. Comparison with previous studies of amino acid adsorption on metal surfaces shows that this is among the lowest decomposition temperatures found so far and lower than typical temperatures used for hydrogenation reactions where modified Ni catalysts are used.

Subject Areas: Chemistry

Facility: ALS

Added On: 15/12/2015 11:44

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