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Imaging Molecular Interaction of NO on C u(110) with a Scanning Tunneling Microscope
Author(s) -
Okuyama Hiroshi
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
the chemical record
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.61
H-Index - 78
eISSN - 1528-0691
pISSN - 1527-8999
DOI - 10.1002/tcr.201402029
Subject(s) - antibonding molecular orbital , scanning tunneling microscope , chemistry , intermolecular force , molecule , chemical physics , molecular orbital , atomic orbital , fermi level , nanotechnology , crystallography , electron , materials science , physics , organic chemistry , quantum mechanics
Abstract Molecular interaction on metal surfaces is one of the central issues of surface science for the microscopic understanding of heterogeneous catalysis. In this Personal Account, I review the recent studies on NO / C u(110) employing a scanning tunneling microscope ( STM ) to probe and control the molecule–molecule interaction on the surface. An individual NO molecule was observed as a characteristic dumbbell‐shaped protrusion, visualizing the 2π* orbital. By manipulating the intermolecular distance with the STM , the overlap of the 2π* orbital between two NO molecules was controlled. The interaction causes the formation of the bonding and antibonding orbitals below and above the Fermi level, respectively, as a function of the intermolecular distance. The 2π* orbital also plays a role in the reaction of NO with water molecules. A water molecule donates a H ‐bond to NO , giving rise to the down‐shift of the 2π* level below the Fermi level. This causes electron transfer from the substrate to NO , weakening, and eventually rupturing, the N – O bond. The facile bond cleavage by water molecules has implications for the catalytic reduction of NO under ambient conditions.