Chemical Activation of Molecules by Metals: Experimental Studies of Electron Distributions and Bonding

This research program is directed at obtaining detailed experimental information on the electronic interactions between metals and organic molecules. These interactions provide low energy pathways for many important chemical and catalytic processes. A major feature of the program is the continued development and application of our special high-resolution valence photoelectron spectroscopy (UPS), and high-precision X-ray core photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) instrumentation for study of organometallic molecules in the gas phase. The study involves a systematic approach towards understanding the interactions and activation of bound carbonyls, C-H bonds, methylenes, vinylidenes, acetylides, alkenes, alkynes, carbenes, carbynes, alkylidenes, alkylidynes, and others with various monometal, dimetal, and cluster metal species. Supporting ligands include -aryls, alkoxides, oxides, and phosphines. We are expanding our studies of both early and late transition metal species and electron-rich and electron-poor environments in order to more completely understand the electronic factors that serve to stabilize particular organic fragments and intermediates on metals. Additional new directions for this program are being taken in ultra-high vacuum surface UPS, XPS, scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) experiments on both physisorbed and chemisorbed organometallic thin films. The combination of these methods provides additional electronic structure information on surface-molecule and molecule-molecule interactions. A very important general result emerging from this program is the identification of a close relationship between the ionization energies of the species and the thermodynamics of the chemical and catalytic reactions of these systems