Zefeng Ren

Observation of Feshbach resonances in the F + H2 --> HF + H reaction.

Reaction resonances, or transiently stabilized transition-state structures, have proven highly challenging to capture experimentally. Here, we used the highly sensitive H atom Rydberg tagging time-of-flight method to conduct a crossed molecular beam scattering study of the F + H2 → HF + H reaction with full quantum-state resolution. Pronounced forward-scattered HF products in the v′ = 2 vibrational state were clearly observed at a collision energy of 0.52 kcal/mol; this was attributed to both the ground and the first excited Feshbach resonances trapped in the peculiar HF(v′ = 3)-H′ vibrationally adiabatic potential, with substantial enhancement by constructive interference between the two resonances.

Stepwise Photocatalytic Dissociation of Methanol and Water on TiO2(110)

We have investigated the photocatalysis of partially deuterated methanol (CD(3)OH) and H(2)O on TiO(2)(110) at 400 nm using a newly developed photocatalysis apparatus in combination with theoretical calculations. Photocatalyzed products, CD(2)O on Ti(5c) sites, and H and D atoms on bridge-bonded oxygen (BBO) sites from CD(3)OH have been clearly detected, while no evidence of H(2)O photocatalysis was found. The experimental results show that dissociation of CD(3)OH on TiO(2)(110) occurs in a stepwise manner in which the O-H dissociation proceeds first and is then followed by C-D dissociation. Theoretical calculations indicate that the high reverse barrier to C-D recombination and the facile desorption of CD(2)O make photocatalytic methanol dissociation on TiO(2)(110) proceed efficiently. Theoretical results also reveal that the reverse reactions, i.e, O-H recombination after H(2)O photocatalytic dissociation on TiO(2)(110), may occur easily, thus inhibiting efficient photocatalytic water splitting.

Breakdown of the Born-Oppenheimer approximation in the F+ o-D2 -> DF + D reaction.

The reaction of F with H2 and its isotopomers is the paradigm for an exothermic triatomic abstraction reaction. In a crossed-beam scattering experiment, we determined relative integral and differential cross sections for reaction of the ground F(2P3/2) and excited F*(2P1/2) spin-orbit states with D2 for collision energies of 0.25 to 1.2 kilocalorie/mole. At the lowest collision energy, F* is ∼1.6 times more reactive than F, although reaction of F* is forbidden within the Born-Oppenheimer (BO) approximation. As the collision energy increases, the BO-allowed reaction rapidly dominates. We found excellent agreement between multistate, quantum reactive scattering calculations and both the measured energy dependence of the F*/F reactivity ratio and the differential cross sections. This agreement confirms the fundamental understanding of the factors controlling electronic nonadiabaticity in abstraction reactions.

Elementary photocatalytic chemistry on TiO2 surfaces

Photocatalytic hydrogen production and pollutant degradation provided both great opportunities and challenges in the field of sustainable energy and environmental science. Over the past few decades, we have witnessed fast growing interest and efforts in developing new photocatalysts, improving catalytic efficiency and exploring the reaction mechanism at the atomic and molecular levels. Owing to its relatively high efficiency, nontoxicity, low cost and high stability, TiO2 becomes one of the most extensively investigated metal oxides in semiconductor photocatalysis. Fundamental studies on well characterized single crystals using ultrahigh vacuum based surface science techniques could provide key microscopic insight into the underlying mechanism of photocatalysis. In this review, we have summarized recent progress in the photocatalytic chemistry of hydrogen, water, oxygen, carbon monoxide, alcohols, aldehydes, ketones and carboxylic acids on TiO2 surfaces. We focused this review mainly on the rutile TiO2(110) surface, but some results on the rutile TiO2(011), anatase TiO2(101) and (001) surfaces are also discussed. These studies provided fundamental insights into surface photocatalysis as well as stimulated new investigations in this exciting field. At the end of this review, we have discussed how these studies can help us to develop new photocatalysis models.

Site-specific photocatalytic splitting of methanol on TiO2(110).

Clean hydrogen production is highly desirable for future energy needs, making the understanding of molecular-level phenomena underlying photocatalytic hydrogen production both fundamentally and practically important. Water splitting on pure TiO2 is inefficient, however, adding sacrificial methanol could significantly enhance the photocatalyzed H2 production. Therefore, understanding the photochemistry of methanol on TiO2 at the molecular level could provide important insights to its photocatalytic activity. Here, we report the first clear evidence of photocatalyzed splitting of methanol on TiO2 derived from time-dependent two-photon photoemission (TD-2PPE) results in combination with scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). STM tip induced molecular manipulation before and after UV light irradiation clearly reveals photocatalytic bond cleavage, which occurs only at Ti4+ surface sites. TD-2PPE reveals that the kinetics of methanol photodissociation is clearly not of single exponential, an important characteristic of this intrinsically heterogeneous photoreaction.

The Extent of Non–Born-Oppenheimer Coupling in the Reaction of Cl(2P) with para-H2

Elementary triatomic reactions offer a compelling test of our understanding of the extent of electron-nuclear coupling in chemical reactions, which is neglected in the widely applied Born-Oppenheimer (BO) approximation. The BO approximation predicts that in reactions between chlorine (Cl) atoms and molecular hydrogen, the excited spin-orbit state (Cl*) should not participate to a notable extent. We report molecular beam experiments, based on hydrogen-atom Rydberg tagging detection, that reveal only a minor role of Cl*. These results are in excellent agreement with fully quantum-reactive scattering calculations based on two sets of ab initio potential energy surfaces. This study resolves a previous disagreement between theory and experiment and confirms our ability to simulate accurately chemical reactions on multiple potential energy surfaces.

Probing the resonance potential in the F atom reaction with hydrogen deuteride with spectroscopic accuracy

Reaction resonances are transiently trapped quantum states along the reaction coordinate in the transition state region of a chemical reaction that could have profound effects on the dynamics of the reaction. Obtaining an accurate reaction potential that holds these reaction resonance states and eventually modeling quantitatively the reaction resonance dynamics is still a great challenge. Up to now, the only viable way to obtain a resonance potential is through high-level ab initio calculations. Through highly accurate crossed-beam reactive scattering studies on isotope-substituted reactions, the accuracy of the resonance potential could be rigorously tested. Here we report a combined experimental and theoretical study on the resonance-mediated F + HD → HF + D reaction at the full quantum state resolved level, to probe the resonance potential in this benchmark system. The experimental result shows that isotope substitution has a dramatic effect on the resonance picture of this important system. Theoretical analyses suggest that the full-dimensional FH2 ground potential surface, which was believed to be accurate in describing the resonance picture of the F + H2 reaction, is found to be insufficiently accurate in predicting quantitatively the resonance picture for the F + HD → HF + D reaction. We constructed a global potential energy surface by using the CCSD(T) method that could predict the correct resonance peak positions as well as the dynamics for both F + H2 → HF + H and F + HD → HF + D, providing an accurate resonance potential for this benchmark system with spectroscopic accuracy.

HF(v′ = 3) forward scattering in the F + H2 reaction: Shape resonance and slow-down mechanism

Crossed molecular beam experiments and accurate quantum dynamics calculations have been carried out to address the long standing and intriguing issue of the forward scattering observed in the F + H2 → HF(v′ = 3) + H reaction. Our study reveals that forward scattering in the reaction channel is not caused by Feshbach or dynamical resonances as in the F + H2 → HF(v′ = 2) + H reaction. It is caused predominantly by the slow-down mechanism over the centrifugal barrier in the exit channel, with some small contribution from the shape resonance mechanism in a very small collision energy regime slightly above the HF(v′ = 3) threshold. Our analysis also shows that forward scattering caused by dynamical resonances can very likely be accompanied by forward scattering in a different product vibrational state caused by a slow-down mechanism.

Strong Photon Energy Dependence of the Photocatalytic Dissociation Rate of Methanol on TiO2(110)

Photocatalytic dissociation of methanol (CH3OH) on a TiO2(110) surface has been studied by temperature programmed desorption (TPD) at 355 and 266 nm. Primary dissociation products, CH2O and H atoms, have been detected. The dependence of the reactant and product TPD signals on irradiation time has been measured, allowing the photocatalytic reaction rate of CH3OH at both wavelengths to be directly determined. The initial dissociation rate of CH3OH at 266 nm is nearly 2 orders of magnitude faster than that at 355 nm, suggesting that CH3OH photocatalysis is strongly dependent on photon energy. This experimental result raises doubt about the widely accepted photocatalysis model on TiO2, which assumes that the excess potential energy of charge carriers is lost to the lattice via strong coupling with phonon modes by very fast thermalization and the reaction of the adsorbate is thus only dependent on the number of electron-hole pairs created by photoexcitation.

Effect of defects on photocatalytic dissociation of methanol on TiO2(110)

Photocatalytic dissociation of deuterated methanol (CD3OD) on both stoichiometric and reduced TiO2(110) surfaces was investigated using the time-dependent two-photon photoemission (2PPE) method, in order to understand the effect of defects on the kinetics of methanol dissociation on TiO2(110). By monitoring the time evolution of the photoinduced excited state on the methanol covered surface, the photocatalytic dissociation kinetics of methanol on the TiO2 surface were observed. The measured photodissociation rate on the reduced TiO2(110) surface is more than an order of magnitude faster than that on the stoichiometric surface. Since the reduced TiO2(110) surface has considerably more surface and subsurface defects than the stoichiometric surface, the experimental observation suggests that one or both of them could accelerate the photocatalysis process of methanol on the TiO2(110) surface in a significant way.