TiO2 supported Au nanoparticles are of significant interest as photocatalytic substrates for CO2 reduction with water. Vibrational sum frequency generation (VSFG) spectroscopy was used to study the adsorption of CO, a likely intermediate, and water on Au surfaces. Au nanoparticles, polycrystalline Au (111), and roughened Au surfaces were exposed to gaseous mixtures of CO and water in argon at room temperature and pressure, and the adsorbed species were analyzed based on their VSFG spectra. While no adsorption was detected on flat Au(111), the Au nanoparticles showed an atop CO peak (2120 cm-1) after exposure to CO and an additional peak (1950 cm-1) upon exposure to a CO/water mixture, tentatively assigned to a bridged adsorption site. Roughened Au showed only the 1950 cm-1 peak. This bridged site adsorption was enhanced more than 3-fold in the presence of water in the mixture, indicating cooperative adsorption of CO and water.

Vibrational spectroscopic evidence of cooperative adsorption of CO and H<sub>2</sub>O on roughened gold surfaces

245th National Meeting (2013)

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Vibrational spectroscopic evidence of cooperative adsorption of CO and H2O on roughened gold surfaces

Vibrational spectroscopic evidence of cooperative adsorption of CO and H₂O on roughened gold surfaces