Dissociative Hydrogen Adsorption on the Hexagonal Mo₂C Phase at High Coverage

Abstract

Hydrogen adsorption on the primarily exposed (001), (100), (101), and (201) surfaces of the hexagonal Mo₂C phase at different coverage has been investigated at the level of density functional theory and using ab initio thermodynamics. On the Mo-terminated (001) and (100) as well as mixed Mo/C-terminated (101) and (201) surfaces, dissociative H₂ adsorption is favored both kinetically and thermodynamically. At high coverage, each surface can have several types of adsorption configurations coexisting, and these types are different from surface to surface. The stable coverage as a function of temperature and partial pressure provides useful information not only for surface science studies at ultrahigh vacuum condition but also for practical applications at high temperature and pressure in monitoring reactions. The differences in the adsorbed H atom numbers and energies of these surfaces indicate their different potential hydrotreating abilities. The relationship between surface stability and stable hydrogen coverage has been discussed