CO preoxidation on Ru-modified Pt(111)

Electrochemical scanning tunneling microscopy was used to study the structural evolution of adsorbed CO during preoxidation on Pt(111) modified with spontaneously deposited Ru. During the preoxidation process, a phase transition was observed from (2 × 2)-3CO-α to (√19 × √19)R23.4°-13CO via the transient structures (2 × 2)-3CO-β and (1 × 1)-CO. A comparison of these structural changes with those that occur on unmodified Pt(111) revealed that the presence of Ru resulted in higher populations of transient structures at lower potentials and a cathodic shift in the potential at which preoxidation is complete. These observations are discussed in terms of increased mobility of adsorbed CO in the presence of Ru.