THz-Pulse-Induced Selective Catalytic CO Oxidation on Ru

Authors

Jerry L. LaRue, Chapman UniversityFollow
Tetsuo Katayama, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory
Aaron Lindenberg, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory
Alan S. Fisher, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory
Henrik Öström, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory
Anders Nilsson, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory
Hirohito Ogasawara, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

7-15-2015

Abstract

We demonstrate the use of intense, quasi-half-cycle THz pulses, with an associated electric field component comparable to intramolecular electric fields, to direct the reaction coordinate of a chemical reaction by stimulating the nuclear motions of the reactants. Using a strong electric field from a THz pulse generated via coherent transition radiation from an ultrashort electron bunch, we present evidence that CO oxidation on Ru(0001) is selectively induced, while not promoting the thermally induced CO desorption process. The reaction is initiated by the motion of the O atoms on the surface driven by the electric field component of the THz pulse, rather than thermal heating of the surface.

Comments

This article was originally published in Physical Review Letters, volume 115, issue 3, in 2015. DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.115.036103

Recommended Citation

J. LaRue, T. Katayama, A. Lindenberg, A. Fisher, H. Östrom, A. Nilsson, H. Ogasawara, THz-pulse-induced catalytic reaction of CO oxidation on Ru, Physical Review Letters 2015, 115(3), 036103; DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.115.036103

Copyright

American Physical Society