Revealing the Intricate Structure of Surface Phases of Methanol on In2O3(111)

Ziegler A, Wagner CI, Chen H, Blatnik MA, Wolfram A, Brandmeier A, Jakub Z, Riva M, Pavelec J, Schmid M, Diebold U, Meyer B, Wagner M (2026)

Publication Type: Journal article

Publication year: 2026

Journal

Journal of Physical Chemistry C American Chemical Society

Book Volume: 130

Pages Range: 2341-2351

Journal Issue: 6

DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcc.5c07043

Abstract

Research on sustainable energy has intensified to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, especially CO2. One promising strategy is the catalytic reduction of CO2 to methanol, and indium oxide (In2O3) has emerged as a highly efficient catalyst, with high turnover rates and selectivity. This work investigates methanol, the end product of CO2 reduction, and its interaction with the In2O3(111) surface. Utilizing an ultrahigh vacuum (UHV) environment, this study combines temperature-programmed desorption (TPD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), noncontact atomic force microscopy (nc-AFM), scanning tunneling microscopy (STM), and density functional theory (DFT) calculations. The coverages investigated range from 1 to 12 methanol molecules per unit cell. The results are compared to water adsorption on In2O3(111), as the chemical behavior of both molecules is similar in many respects. At low coverage, the adsorption patterns and interactions with the In2O3(111) surface mirror those seen with water, including dissociative and molecular adsorption. The first three methanol molecules dissociate at specific sites within the surface unit cell, while molecular adsorption becomes favored for subsequent molecules at temperatures below 300 K. At the highest coverage (before multilayer adsorption) methanol and water exhibit distinct structures due to their differing hydrogen bonding capabilities.

Authors with CRIS profile

Andreas Ziegler Interdisziplinäres Zentrum für Molekulare Materialien (ICMM) Alexander Wolfram Lehrstuhl für Physikalische Chemie II Bernd Meyer Professur für Computational Chemistry

Involved external institutions

Technische Universität Wien / Vienna University of Technology AT Austria (AT) Brno University of Technology (BUT) / Vysoké učení technické v Brně (VUT) CZ Czech Republic (CZ)

How to cite

APA:

Ziegler, A., Wagner, C.I., Chen, H., Blatnik, M.A., Wolfram, A., Brandmeier, A.,... Wagner, M. (2026). Revealing the Intricate Structure of Surface Phases of Methanol on In2O3(111). Journal of Physical Chemistry C, 130(6), 2341-2351. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jpcc.5c07043

MLA:

Ziegler, Andreas, et al. "Revealing the Intricate Structure of Surface Phases of Methanol on In2O3(111)." Journal of Physical Chemistry C 130.6 (2026): 2341-2351.

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