Infrared surface spectroscopy and surface optical reflectance for operando catalyst surface characterization

Using a new sample environment, the two operando surface diagnostic techniques two-dimensional surface optical reflection (2D-SOR) and polarization-modulated infrared reflection–absorption spectroscopy (PM-IRRAS) have been combined with mass spectrometry (MS) to characterize a catalytic reaction. With both techniques integrated in a custom-built setup, we can correlate molecular information of the adsorbed surface species from PM-IRRAS with information about oxide formation on the sample from 2D-SOR. The new setup was evaluated by performing CO oxidation over a Palladium single crystal Pd(1 0 0) surface. The results reveal that the macroscopic and the microscopic molecular behavior correlate well. When the CO adsorption peak disappears in the PM-IRRAS spectrum, the formation of a well-defined ultra-thin surface oxide is observed in the 2D-SOR trend. We discuss the benefits and limitations of the two techniques as well as their potential for further studies of catalytic reactions at both gas–solid and liquid–solid interfaces.