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Chemisorption-Induced Activation of MgCl2 Film as Realistic Route for Heterogeneous Ziegler–Natta Surfaces under Ultrahigh Vacuum
journal contribution
posted on 2017-10-12, 00:00 authored by Toshiaki Taniike, Patchanee Chammingkwan, Vu Q. Thang, Keisuke Goto, Tadahiro Fujitani, Minoru TeranoThe
preparation of model Ziegler–Natta (ZN) surfaces under
ultrahigh vacuum necessitates the activation of MgCl2 films
deposited on a substrate, since these films unexceptionally expose
the energetically most stable but catalytically inactive (001) face.
Here, we present a method to activate MgCl2 films with
the inactive (001) termination, which was based on the chemisorption
of a Lewis base in an analogous way to industrial powder catalyst
preparation. We found that a (001)-terminated MgCl2 film
on Cu(110) was activated into a MgCl2·Lewis base adduct
when exposed to a pyridine vapor at a nearly saturated vapor pressure.
A dynamic response of the MgCl2 film to the chemisorption
and desorption of a Lewis base was uncovered using low-energy electron
diffraction and temperature-programmed desorption.