title: Unusual process of water formation on RuO2(110) by hydrogen exposure at room temperature.
abstract: The reduction mechanism of the RuO(2)(110) surface by molecular hydrogen exposure is unraveled to an unprecedented level by a combination of temperature programmed reaction, scanning tunneling microscopy, high-resolution core level shift spectroscopy, and density functional theory calculations. We demonstrate that even at room temperature hydrogen exposure to the RuO(2)(110) surface leads to the formation of water. In a two-step process, hydrogen saturates first the bridging oxygen atoms to form (O(br)-H) species and subsequently part of these O(br)-H groups move to the undercoordinated Ru atoms where they form adsorbed water. This latter process is driven by thermodynamics leaving vacancies in the bridging O rows.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Chemistry, Justus-Liebig-University, Heinrich-Buff-Ring 58, D-35392 Giessen, Germany.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Knapp
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Crihan
authors.forename: A P
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Seitsonen
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Resta
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Lundgren
authors.forename: J N
authors.initials: JN
authors.lastname: Andersen
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Schmid
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Varga
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Over