Experimental and theoretical studies of ammonia decomposition activity on Fe-Pt, Co-Pt, and Cu-Pt bimetallic surfaces

We investigate the decomposition of ammonia on bimetallic surfaces prepared by the deposition of a monolayer of Fe, Co, or Cu on a Pt(111) surface computationally and experimentally. We explore the correlation between predicted activities based on the nitrogen binding energies with experimental decomposition activity on these bimetallic and corresponding monometallic surfaces. Through density functional theory calculations and microkinetic modeling, it is predicted that the Fe-Pt-Pt(111) and Co-Pt-Pt(111) surfaces, with a monolayer of Fe or Co on top of Pt(111), are active toward decomposing ammonia. In contrast, the corresponding subsurface configurations, Pt-Fe-Pt(111) and Pt-Co-Pt(111) are inactive. These predictions were confirmed experimentally through temperature programmed desorption experiments. Decomposition was seen at temperatures below 350 K for the Fe-Pt-Pt(111) and Co-Pt-Pt(111) surfaces. For the Cu/Pt(111) system, the surface, subsurface and parent metals were each predicted to be inactive, consistent with experiments, further validating the model predictions. The stability of these bimetallic surfaces in the presence of adsorbed nitrogen is also discussed. (C) 2011 American Institute of Physics. [doi:10.1063/1.3589260]