Effects of postdosed species on preadsorbed CO on Fe(100) : adsorption site conversion caused by site competition

Carbon monoxide (CO) adsorption on the clean Fe(100) surface and the c(2{times}2)CO-Fe(100) surface has been studied. The effects of postdosed oxygen(O{sub 2}) and methanethiol (CH{sub 3}SH) on preadsorbed CO were examined. These studies were performed under ultrahigh-vacuum(UHV) conditions, using high-resolution electron energy loss spectroscopy (HREELS), temperature-programmed desorption spectroscopy (TPD), Auger electron spectroscopy (AES), and low-energy electron diffraction (LEED). For CO, four associative adsorption states and one dissociative adsorption state were identified. Postdosed species were found to cause 4-fold hollow site CO molecules to migrate into lower coordination sites. This type of adsorption site conversion is discussed in terms of adsorption site competition between preadsorbed species and postdosed species.