Surface dynamics of coadsorbed CO and D ₂O on Pt(100) in ultrahigh vacuum as studied by time-resolved infrared reflection absorption spectroscopy

Changes in the properties of CO adsorbed at saturation coverages on Pt(100) induced by subsequent coadsorption of fixed amounts of D ₂O at 105 K in ultrahigh vacuum (UHV) were monitored by time-resolved infrared reflection absorption spectroscopy (tr-IRAS). The linear- and bridge-bonded CO stretching features were found to change in intensity and shift toward lower energies as a function of time at fixed CO and D ₂O coverages. Also observed was the development of multiple features in both CO spectral regions depending on the amount of D ₂O on the surface. These findings indicate that, under the conditions of these experiments, the interfacial dynamics are relatively slow, on the order of minutes, involving a gradual rearrangement of adsorbed CO and D ₂O on the surface to yield surface solvated CO, as has been suggested in the literature (Kizhakevariam et al. J. Chem. Phys. 1994, 100, 6750). This factor should be considered when comparing, quantitatively, shifts induced by water coadsorption with CO on Pt single crystals in UHV with CO adsorption on the same surfaces in electrochemical environments.