DFT study of the formate formation on Ni(111) surface doped by transition metals [Ni(111)-M; M=Cu, Pd, Pt, Rh]

We report on a theoretical study of the formation of formate (HCOO) from the reaction of CO2 gas and a pre- adsorbed H atom (CO2 (g) + *H → *HCOO) on Ni(111) surface doped by transition-metals [Ni(111)-M; M= Cu, Pd, Pt, Rh] by means of density functional theory (DFT) calculations. This *HCOO formation reaction is one of the most important rate- limiting steps in the methanol synthesis process. We find that the presence of transition metal doping on the first-layer of Ni(111) surface could reduce the activation barrier of this reaction [up to ~38.4%, compared to clean Ni(111) surface].