Low temperature thermal reaction of acetyl chloride on a Cu(1 1 1) surface

We report thermal desorption spectra for acetyl chloride (CH 3COCl) adsorbed on Cu(1 1 1), 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.