Infrared Spectroscopy of Adsorbed Species on the Surface of Transition Metal Oxides

Included here is a summary of findings made by the author from infrared investigations of the surface chemistry of simple and complex oxide catalysts. The focus is on spectral characteristics of active sites on oxide surfaces, namely hydroxyl groups, coordinatively unsaturated cations, and surface oxygen. There is a detailed account of the method used for characterizing the oxidation state and coordination of cations on oxide surfaces by the adsorption of probe molecules. In addition, the role played by surface sites in surface-molecule adsorption is used to organize and classify data relating to the interaction of carbon, nitrogen, ammonia, and alkenes with surfaces of transition metal oxides and with supported or mixed oxides containing transition metal cations.