Graphene-Based Material Supports for Ni- and Ru- Catalysts in CO Hydrogenation: Ruling out Performances and Impurity Role.

Laboratory-prepared Gnp using molten salt, commercial Gnp and reduced graphene oxide (rGO) have been characterized and utilized as support for CO hydrogenation catalysts. Ni- and Ru- catalysts supported over Gnp, commercial Gnp and rGO have been deeply characterized at different stages using Raman, IR, XRD, FE-SEM-EDXS, SEM-EDXS, XPS, and TEM, also addressing carbon loss before reaction and evolved species, thus allowing a better comprehension of the produced materials. Ni and Ru/rGO were inactive while Gnp-supported ones were active.

Intercalation and reactions of CO under single layer graphene/Ni(111): the role of vacancies.

We use synchrotron radiation-induced core level photoemission spectroscopy to investigate the influence of vacancies, produced by ion bombardment, on monolayer graphene/Ni(111) exposed to CO at pressures ranging from ultra-high vacuum (10 mbar) up to near ambient (5.6 mbar) conditions. CO intercalates at a rate which is comparable to the one observed in absence of defects and reacts the Boudouard reaction producing additional carbon atoms and CO.

Adsorption of glutamic acid on clean and hydroxylated rutile TiO(110): an XPS and NEXAFS investigation.

Due to its biocompatibility, TiOis a relevant material for the study of bio-interfaces. Its electronic and chemical properties are influenced by defects, which mainly consist of oxygen vacancies or adsorbed OH groups and which affect, consequently, also the interaction with biological molecules. Here we report on an x-ray photoemission spectroscopy and near edge adsorption fine structure study of glutamic acid (Glu) adsorption on the rutile TiO(110) surface, either clean or partially hydroxylated.

Prominence of Terahertz Acoustic Surface Plasmon Excitation in Gas-Surface Interaction with Metals.

The current understanding of the dynamics of gas-surface interactions is that all of the energy lost in the collision is transferred to vibrations of the target. Electronic excitations were shown to play a marginal role except for cases in which the impinging particles have energies of several electronvolts. Here we show that this picture does not hold for metal surfaces supporting acoustic surface plasmons.

Morphological characterization and electronic properties of pristine and oxygen-exposed graphene nanoribbons on Ag(110).

Graphene nanoribbons (GNRs) are at the frontier of research on graphene materials since the 1D quantum confinement of electrons allows for the opening of an energy gap. GNRs of uniform and well-defined size and shape can be grown using the bottom-up approach, i.e.