Direct evidence of hydrogen spillover from Ni to Cu on Ni–Cu bimetallic catalysts

• The spillover of hydrogen from Ni to Cu was observed.
• Hydrogen selectively adsorbs on Ni sites on Ni–Cu bimetallic catalysts under UHV conditions.
• Hydrogen spillover could result in failure of active sites measurement by selective hydrogen adsorptions.

The spillover of hydrogen from Ni to Cu was directly observed on bimetallic Ni–Cu thin films and nanoparticles by hydrogen temperature programmed desorption (TPD) via depositing Cu atoms onto Ni surfaces precovered with atomic hydrogen. The spillover of hydrogen between metals could result in over counting of active sites by hydrogen selective adsorption methods, and also provides a new concept for catalyst design.

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