ESD and TDS study of the adsorption of methanol on Nb(110)

The adsorption of methanol on the Nb(110) surface has been studied by the electron stimulated desorption (ESD) and thermal desorption spectrometry (TDS) techniques, electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS) and Auger electron spectroscopy (AES). The main ESD product is H * irrespective of the surface temperature and coverage of the surface. The thermally desorbed gases from a layer adsorbed at a temperature of 240 K are CH 4 , H 2 and CO. The ion energy distribution (IED) reveals a most probable kinetic energy of 8 eV that shifts to 5.6 eV at higher exposures. The initial layer is mainly formed by methoxy species, that are dissociated into an intermediate with an energy of 71 kJ mol −1 .