Room Temperature Dehydrogenation of Gaseous Methanol over Polycrystalline Gold Triggered and Traced by Oxygen K-edge X-rays.

ABSTRACT: The room temperature conversion of gaseous methanol to carbon monoxide and hydrogen on a polycrystalline Au film at ambient pressure has been triggered and characterized by oxygen K-edge excitation and vibrationally resolved resonant inelastic X-ray scattering. The rate-limiting first methanol dehydrogenation step is driven by ultrafast O-H dissociation and deprotonation of O K-edge excited CH₃OH. The Au surface further dehydrogenates the CH₃O⁺ photoradical created by X-rays via electron transfer from the Au surface. With vibrationally resolved resonant inelastic X-ray scattering, we trace the CO molecular potential energy surface along the C-O coordinate. The CO bond softens, and the C-O stretch frequency changes from 2250 to 2065 cm^-1 at a CO c

SUBMITTER: Pietzsch A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11808772 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature