Room temperature propylene dehydrogenation and linear atomic chain formation on Ni(111)

TL;DR

This study reveals that propylene molecules on Ni(111) at room temperature dehydrogenate and form linear hydrocarbon chains, with chain length and ring formation depending on coverage, combining experimental STM and DFT methods.

Contribution

It demonstrates the formation of long hydrocarbon chains from propylene on Ni(111) at room temperature, combining experimental and theoretical approaches.

Findings

Propylene dehydrogenates and forms chains on Ni(111).

Chain lengths vary from 8 to 60 Å, with a common length of 18 Å.

Some chains form rings with a 6 Å diameter.

Abstract

The structures formed by propylene adsorption on Ni(111) at room temperature are determined by a combination of scanning tunneling microscopy and density functional theory. As a result of the interaction with the Ni(111) surface, propylene molecules are dehydrogenated and coupled into linear hydrocarbon chains. The length of the chains varies from 8 to 60A, with the most frequently observed length of 18A. At saturated coverage, some chains are closed in rings with a diameter of 6A. A C12H12 model is proposed for most often observed chains. We demonstrate that the possibility of combining initial propylene molecules into chains appears after dehydrogenation of the CH3 fragment.