Low temperature thermal reaction of acetyl chloride on a Cu(111) surface

We report thermal desorption spectra for acetyl chloride (CH3COCl) adsorbed on Cu(111), and find that the adsorption is irreversible at low coverages. Using a chemical displacement technique we estimate an activation energy of 39 kJ/mol for a reaction at low coverages of adsorbed acetyl chloride to form a more strongly bound surface species. We also observe that the co-adsorption of iodobenzene and reacted acetyl chloride leads to the desorption of an acetyl species near the temperature at which monolayer iodobenzene is known to dissociate. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.