Formation of surface adspecies at furan and tetrahydrofuran adsorption on the Pt surface studied by work function changes and Auger electron spectroscopy

The adsorption of tetrahydrofuran (THF) and furan (F) on polycrystalline Pt-foil has been studied by work function change (Δ φ) measurements and Auger electron spectroscopy (AES). The results were compared with those obtained earlier for the adsorption of cyclic hydrocarbons. The general character of the adsorption process (i.e. the dependence of ∣Δ φ∣ and C/Pt ratio on temperature and exposure, and the ∣Δ φ∣ vs. C/Pt correlation) is similar to the one observed during adsorption of cyclic hydrocarbons. THF produces σ-bonded adspecies in a similar manner to cyclopentane. F forms first a π-bonded surface complex, as do benzene and toluene. The π-adsorbed species are then transformed into σ-bonded ones under exposure to excess F. The numeric values characterizing the adsorption of the two heterocycles (mainly the C/Pt values) differ substantially from those measured for the adsorption of cyclic hydrocarbons.