Publications de Rainer Beck | EPFL Graph Search

Quantum interference observed in state-resolved molecule-surface scattering

Although the dynamics of collisions between a molecule and a solid surface are ultimately quantum mechanical, decohering effects owing to the large number of interacting degrees of freedom typically obscure the wavelike nature of these events. However, a p ...

American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)2025

Surface-induced vibrational energy redistribution in methane/surface scattering depends on catalytic activity

Rainer Beck, Patrick Floss, Christopher Scott Reilly

Recent state-to-state experiments of methane scattering from Ni(111) and graphene-covered Ni(111) combined with quantum mechanical simulations suggest an intriguing correlation between the surface-induced vibrational energy redistribution (SIVR) during the ...

2023

Quantum state-resolved methane scattering from Ni(111) and NiO(111) by bolometer infrared laser tagging: The effect of surface oxidation

Rainer Beck, Bo-Jung Chen, Patrick Floss, Christopher Scott Reilly

We describe a novel UHV state-to-state molecule/surface scattering apparatus with quan- tum state preparation of the incident molecular beam and angle-resolved quantum state detection of the scattered molecules. State resolved detection is accomplished usi ...

2023

Probing Water Dissociation and Oxygen Replacement on Partially Oxygen-Covered Cu(111) by Reflection Absorption Infrared Spectroscopy

Rainer Beck, Harmina Vejayan, Mateusz Suchodol

The presence of chemisorbed oxygen on the Cu(111) surface is known to strongly reduce the activation barrier for water dissociation as compared to bare Cu(111). Here, we present direct experimental evidence for the hydrogen abstraction mechanism responsibl ...

2023

Methylidyne Adsorption on Pt(211) Probed by Reflection Absorption Infrared Spectroscopy (RAIRS)

Rainer Beck, Ana Gutiérrez González, Harmina Vejayan

Methylidyne, CH(ads), adsorbed on a Pt(211) surface and its interaction with chemisorbed hydrogen atoms was studied by reflection absorption infrared spectroscopy (RAIRS). Methylidyne was formed on Pt(211) by methane dissociation from a molecular beam foll ...

2022

Dissociative Sticking Probability of Methane on Pt(110)-(2×1)

Rainer Beck, Ana Gutiérrez González

In this work, we revisit the dissociative sticking of methane on Pt(110)-(2×1) using quasi-classical trajectory (QCT) calculations and supersonic molecular beam (SMB) experiments. Experimentally, we apply the King and Wells method and the reflection absorp ...

2021

Infrared Activities of Adsorbed Species on Metal Surfaces: The Puzzle of Adsorbed Methyl (CH3)

Rainer Beck, Harmina Vejayan

Reflection–absorption infrared spectroscopy (RAIRS) is widely used to identify molecular adsorbates on metals during surface chemical reactions, but the interpretation of RAIRS data can be difficult with experiment alone. Here, we reveal from first-princip ...

2021

Highly Efficient Activation of HCl Dissociation on Au(111) via Rotational Preexcitation

Rainer Beck

The probability for dissociation of molecules on metal surfaces, which often controls the rate of industrially important catalytic processes, can depend strongly on how energy is partitioned in the incident molecule. There are many example systems where th ...

2021

State-to-state methane-surface scattering as a probe of catalytic activity

Rainer Beck, Maarten Eduard van Reijzen, Jörn Werdecker, Bo-Jung Chen

Quantum state-resolved scattering experiments for methane molecules colliding with a catalytically active nickel surface are compared to scattering from a nickel surface passivated by a single layer of graphene. The vibrational state distribution of the sc ...

2020

Quantum state and surface-site-resolved studies of methane chemisorption by vibrational spectroscopies

Rainer Beck, Ana Gutiérrez González

The combination of quantum state-specific reactant preparation by infrared laser pumping with surface-site-resolved detection of chemisorbed reaction products by Reflection Absorption Infrared Spectroscopy (RAIRS) enables highly detailed studies of molecul ...

2020

CHD3 Dissociation on the Kinked Pt(210) Surface: A Comparison of Experiment and Theory

Rainer Beck, Helen Jane Chadwick, Ana Gutiérrez González

To be able to simulate activated heterogeneously catalyzed reactions on the edge and corner sites of nanoparticles, a method for calculating accurate activation barriers for the reactions is required. We have recently demonstrated that a semiempirical spec ...

2019

Transferability of the SRP32-vdW specific reaction parameter functional to CHD3 dissociation on Pt(110)-(2 × 1)

Rainer Beck, Helen Jane Chadwick, Ana Gutiérrez González

Stepped transition metal surfaces, including the reconstructed Pt(110)-(2 × 1) surface, can be used to model the effect of line defects on cata- lysts. We present a combined experimental and theoretical study of CHD3 dissociation on this surface. Theoretic ...

2019

Site Selective Detection of Methane Dissociation on Stepped Pt Surfaces

Rainer Beck, Ana Gutiérrez González

We report a combined experimental and theoretical study comparing methane dissociation on three di erent platinum surfaces Pt(111), Pt(211), and Pt(110)-(1 × 2). Re ection absorption infrared spectroscopy (RAIRS) was used to detect chemisorbed methyl speci ...

2019

Quantum state-resolved studies of gas/surface reaction dynamics by vibrational spectroscopies

Rainer Beck

AMER CHEMICAL SOC2019

Unraveling the complexity of oxygen reactions on Pt surfaces

Rainer Beck, Ana Gutiérrez González

Platinum (Pt) is a key material in automotive catalytic converters used to clean up the exhaust of the combustion engine. Pt particles in a ceramic matrix serve as an oxidation catalyst to eliminate toxic carbon monoxide (CO) and unburned hydrocarbons (CxH ...

2019

Vibrational Energy Redistribution in a Gas-Surface Encounter: State-to-State Scattering of CH4 from Ni(111)

Rainer Beck, Maarten Eduard van Reijzen, Jörn Werdecker, Bo-Jung Chen

The fate of vibrational energy in the collision of methane (CH4) in its antisymmetric C-H stretch vibration (ν3) with a Ni(111) surface has been studied in a state-to-state scattering experiment. Laser excitation in the incident molecular beam prepared the ...

2018

Bond selective dissociation of methane (CH3D) on the steps and terraces of Pt(211)

Rainer Beck, Fleming Crim, Ana Gutiérrez González

The dissociative chemisorption of singly deuterated methane (CH3D) has been studied on the steps and terraces of a Pt(211) surface by quantum state resolved molecular beam methods. At incident translational energy (Et) below 50 kJ/mol, CH3D dissociates onl ...

2018

Methane dissociation on the steps and terraces of Pt(211) resolved by quantum state and impact site

Rainer Beck, Helen Jane Chadwick, Ana Gutiérrez González

Methane dissociation on the step and terrace sites of a Pt(211) single crystal was studied by reflection absorption infrared spectroscopy (RAIRS) at a surface temperature of 120 K. The C−H stretch RAIRS signal of the chemisorbed methyl product species was ...

American Institute of Physics2018

Quantum State–Resolved Studies of Chemisorption Reactions

Rainer Beck, Helen Jane Chadwick

Chemical reactions at the gas–surface interface are ubiquitous in the chemical industry as well as in nature. Investigating these processes at a microscopic, quantum state–resolved level helps develop a predictive understanding of this important class of r ...

Annual Reviews2017

Quantum-state-resolved reactivity of overtone excited CH4 on Ni(111): Comparing experiment and theory

Rainer Beck, Phil Morten Hundt, Maarten Eduard van Reijzen

Quantum state resolved reactivity measurements probe the role of vibrational symmetry on the vibrational activation of the dissociative chemisorption of CH4 on Ni(111). IR-IR double resonance excitation in a molecular beam was used to prepare CH4 in three ...

American Institute of Physics2017