Abstract
Rotational and vibrational energies of desorbing products in chemical reactions provide information on dynamical processes of bond formation and bond rupture and also on structures of transition states. Energies of product CO2 in CO oxidation on metal surfaces can be determined by analysis of infrared chemiluminescence spectra from CO2. However, angle-resolved (AR) measurements of these energies in thermal surface reactions have long been lacking due to difficulty of experiments, although AR measurements is required to obtain detailed structural information. In this review, recent progress in the AR measurements in CO oxidation on Pd surfaces is described. It was found that both internal and vibrational energies changed depending on polar- and azimuthal angles, surface structures, and rotational/vibrational modes. From these phenomena, new insights into transition states and energy partition dynamics can be obtained.
