Vibrational spectroscopy provides the most definitive means of
identifying the surface species generated upon molecular adsorption and
the species generated by surface reactions. In principle, any technique
that can be used to obtain vibrational data from solid state or gas
phase samples (IR, Raman etc.) can be applied to the study of surfaces
- in addition there are a number of techniques which have been
specifically developed to study the vibrations of molecules at
interfaces (EELS, SFG etc.).
There are, however, only two techniques that are routinely used for vibrational studies of molecules on surfaces - these are :
IR Spectroscopy
There are a number of ways in which the IR technique may be implemented for the study of adsorbates on surfaces.
For solid samples possessing a high surface area :
Transmission IR Spectroscopy
: employing the same basic experimental geometry as that used for
liquid samples and mulls. This is often used for studies on supported
metal catalysts where the large metallic surface area permits a high
concentration of adsorbed species to be sampled. The solid sample must,
of course, be IR transparent over an appreciable wavelength range.
Diffuse Reflectance IR Spectroscopy
( DRIFTS ) : in which the diffusely scattered IR radiation from a
sample is collected, refocused and analysed. This modification of the
IR technique can be employed with high surface area catalytic samples
that are not sufficiently transparent to be studied in transmission.
For studies on low surface area samples (e.g. single crystals) :
Reflection-Absorption IR Spectroscopy
( RAIRS ) : where the IR beam is specularly reflected from the front
face of a highly-reflective sample, such as a metal single crystal
surface.
Multiple Internal Reflection Spectroscopy
( MIR ) : in which the IR beam is passed through a thin, IR
transmitting sample in a manner such that it alternately undergoes
total internal reflection from the front and rear faces of the sample.
At each reflection, some of the IR radiation may be absorbed by species
adsorbed on the solid surface - hence the alternative name of
Attenuated Total Reflection (ATR).
RAIRS - the Study of Adsorbates on Metallic Surfaces by Reflection IR Spectroscopy
It can be shown theoretically that the best sensitivity for IR
measurements on metallic surfaces is obtained using a grazing-incidence
reflection of the IR light.

Furthermore, since it is an optical (photon in/photon out) technique
it is not necessary for such studies to be carried out in vacuum. The
technique is not inherently surface-specific, but
- there is no bulk signal to worry about
- the surface signal is readily distinguishable from gas-phase absorptions using polarization effects.
One major problem, is that of sensitivity (i.e. the signal is
usually very weak owing to the small number of adsorbing molecules).
Typically, the sampled area is ca. 1 cm2 with less than 1015
adsorbed molecules (i.e. about 1 nanomole). With modern FTIR
spectrometers, however, such small signals (0.01% - 2% absorption) can
still be recorded at relatively high resolution (ca. 1 cm-1 ).
For a number of practical reasons, low frequency modes ( < 600 cm-1 )
are not generally observable - this means that it is not usually
possible to see the vibration of the metal-adsorbate bond and attention
is instead concentrated on the intrinsic vibrations of the adsorbate
species in the range 600 - 3600 cm-1.
Selection Rules
The observation of vibrational modes of adsorbates on metallic substrates is subject to the surface dipole selection rule.
This states that
only those vibrational modes which give rise to an oscillating dipole
perpendicular (normal) to the surface are IR active and give rise to an
observable absorption band.

Further information on the selection rules for surface IR
spectroscopy can be found in the review by Sheppard & Erkelens
[Appl. Spec. 38, 471 (1984)]. It also needs to be remembered that even
if a transition is allowed it may still be very weak if the transition
moment is small.
Examples of Reflection IR Spectra
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Eg.1 Nitric oxide (NO) adsorption on a Pt surface. |

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Eg.2 HCN adsorption on a Pt surface |
Electron Energy Loss Spectroscopy (EELS)
This is a technique utilising the inelastic scattering of low energy
electrons in order to measure vibrational spectra of surface species :
superficially, it can be considered as the electron-analogue of Raman
spectroscopy.
To avoid confusion with other electron energy loss techniques it is sometimes referred to as
HREELS - high resolution EELS or VELS - vibrational ELS
Since the technique employs low energy electrons, it is necessarily
restricted to use in high vacuum (HV) and UHV environments - however,
the use of such low energy electrons ensures that it is a surface
specific technique and, arguably, it is the vibrational technique of
choice for the study of most adsorbates on single crystal substrates.
The basic experimental geometry is fairly simple as illustrated
schematically below - it involves using an electron monochromator to
give a well-defined beam of electrons of a fixed incident energy, and
then analysing the scattered electrons using an appropriate electron
energy analyser.

A substantial number of electrons are elastically scattered ( E = Eo ) - this gives rise to a strong elastic peak in the spectrum.

On the low kinetic energy side of this main peak ( E < Eo
), additional weak peaks are superimposed on a mildly sloping
background. These peaks correspond to electrons which have undergone
discrete energy losses during the scattering from the surface.

The magnitude of the energy loss, ΔE = (Eo - E),
is equal to the vibrational quantum (i.e. the energy) of the
vibrational mode of the adsorbate excited in the inelastic scattering
process. In practice, the incident energy ( Eo ) is
usually in the range 5-10 eV (although occasionally up to 200 eV) and
the data is normally plotted against the energy loss (frequently
measured in meV).

Selection Rules
The selection rules that determine whether a vibrational band may be
observed depend upon the nature of the substrate and also the
experimental geometry: specifically the angles of the incident and
(analysed) scattered beams with respect to the surface.
For metallic substrates and a specular
geometry, scattering is principally by a long-range dipole mechanism.
In this case the loss features are relatively intense, but only those
vibrations giving rise to a dipole change normal to the surface can be
observed.

By contrast, in an off-specular
geometry, electrons lose energy to surface species by a short-range
impact scattering mechanism. In this case the loss features are
relatively weak but all vibrations are allowed and may be observed.
If spectra can be recorded in both specular and off-specular
modes the selection rules for metallic substrates can be put to good
use - helping the investigator to obtain more definitive identification
of the nature and geometry of the adsorbate species.
The resolution of the technique (despite the HREELS acronym !) is generally rather poor ; 40-80 cm-1
is not untypical. A measure of the instrumental resolution is given by
looking at the FWHM (full-width at half maximum) of the elastic peak.

This poor resolution can cause problems in distinguishing between
closely similar surface species - however, recent improvements in
instrumentation have opened up the possibility of much better spectral
resolution ( < 10 cm-1 ) and will undoubtedly enhance the utility of the technique.
In summary, there are both advantages and disadvantages in utilising
EELS, as opposed to IR techniques, for the study of surface species It
offers the advantages of ...
- high sensitivity
- variable selection rules
- spectral acquisition to below 400 cm-1
but suffers from the limitations of ...
- use of low energy electrons (requiring a HV environment and hence
the need for low temperatures to study weakly-bound species, and also
the use of magnetic shielding to reduce the magnetic field in the
region of the sample)
- requirement for flat, preferably conducting, substrates
- lower resolution
Applications of Vibrational Spectroscopy
One of the classic examples of an area in which vibrational
spectroscopy has contributed significantly to the understanding of the
surface chemistry of an adsorbate is that of :
Molecular Adsorption of CO on Metallic Surfaces
Adsorbed carbon monoxide usually gives rise to strong
absorptions in both the IR and EELS spectra at the (C-O) stretching
frequency. The metal-carbon stretching mode (ca. 400 cm-1 ) is usually also accessible to EELS.
The interpretation of spectra of CO as an adsorbed surface species
draws heavily upon IR spectra from related inorganic cluster and
coordination complexes - the structure of such complexes usually being
available from x-ray single crystal diffraction measurements.
This comparison suggests that the CO stretching frequency can
provide a good indication of the surface coordination of the molecule :
as a rough guideline,
| |
ν(C-O) |
|
CO ( gas phase ) |
2143 cm-1 |
|
Terminal CO |
2100 - 1920 cm-1 |
|
Bridging ( 2f site ) |
1920 - 1800 cm-1 |
|
Bridging ( 3f / 4f site ) |
< 1800 cm-1 |
Example :
RAIR spectrum for CO chemisorbed on a clean Pt surface.
The reduction in the stretching frequency of terminally-bound CO from the value observed for the gas phase molecule ( 2143 cm-1 ) can be explained in terms of the Dewar-Chatt or Blyholder model for the bonding of CO to metals.
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This simple model considers the metal-CO bonding to consist of two main components :
A : this is a σ-bonding interaction due to overlap of a filled s
-"lone pair" orbital on the carbon atom with empty metal orbitals of
the correct symmetry - this leads to electron density transfer from the
CO molecule to the metal centre.
B : this is a π bonding interaction due to overlap of filled metal dπ (and pπ ?) orbitals with the π*
antibonding molecular orbital of the CO molecule. Since this
interaction leads to the introduction of electron density into the CO
antibonding orbital there is a consequent reduction in the CO bond
strength and its intrinsic vibrational frequency (relative to the
isolated molecule). |
For a more detailed discussions on the bonding of CO to metals, you are recommended to refer to one of the following :
" Advanced Inorganic Chemistry " by F.A. Cotton & G. Wilkinson (5th Edn.) pp. 58 - 62 .
" Solids & Surfaces : a chemist's view of bonding in extended structures " by R. Hoffman pp. 71-74.