Ethylene Decomposition at Undercoordinated Sites on Cu(410)

Controlling hydrocarbon chemistry on metal surfaces is important for both heterogeneous catalysis and nanotechnology. Formation of C-C bonds and C-H scission is central to carbon nanotube synthesis whereas the inhibition of carbon growth (C-C breaking) is important for preventing the poisoning of industrial catalysts. Although the importance of special surface active sites for catalysis has been known for many years, only a few investigations deal with the influence of undercoordinated sites on reaction selectivity. In this communication we demonstrate the bond breaking selectivity for molecular ethylene adsorbed on Cu(410). While on terraces ethylene is reversibly π-bonded, the step sites induce not only unexpected di-σ-bonding but also complete dehydrogenation at rather low crystal temperatures, T. The resulting carbon decorates the step edges.