Methanol decomposition on single-crystal Cu₂O

CH₃OD decomposition has been studied over the stoichiometric, nonpolar (111) and polar, copper_terminated (100) surfaces of Cu₂O. Thermal desorption studies for monolayer coverages of methanol at 90 K show similar conversions, but the product distributions vary significantly, indicating a structure sensitive reaction. The (111) surface shows a maximum selectivity for complete oxidative dehydrogenation to CO, while the (100) surface shows a maximum selectivity for partial dehydrogenation to CH₂O. Thermal desorptionspectroscopy (TDS) and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) data are consistent with a decomposition pathway which proceeds through a methoxy intermediate for both surfaces. Possible origins for the structure sensitivity are discussed.