Journal of Physical Chemistry B, Vol.108, No.12, 3828-3834, 2004
N-2 desorption in the decomposition of adsorbed N2O on Rh(110)
The decomposition of N2O(a) was studied on Rh(110) at 95-200 K through the analysis of the angular distributions of desorbing N-2 by means of angle-resolved thermal desorption. N-2O(a) was highly decomposed during the heating procedures, emitting N2(g) and releasing O(a). N2 desorption showed four peaks, at 105110 K (beta(4)-N-2), 120-130 K (beta(3)-N-2), 140-150 K (beta(2)-N-2), and 160-165 K(beta(1)-N-2). The appearance of each peak was sensitive to annealing after oxygen adsorption and also to the amount of N2O exposure. The beta(1)-N-2 peak was major at low N2O exposures and showed a cosine distribution. On the other hand, beta(2)-N-2 and beta(3)-N-2 on an oxygen-modified surface revealed inclined and sharp collimation at around 30degrees off the surface normal in the plane along the [001] direction, whereas beta(4)-N-2 on a clean surface collimated at around 70degrees off the surface normal, close to the [001] direction. An inclined or surface-parallel form of adsorbed N2O was proposed as the precursor for inclined N-2 desorption.