On the interplay between chemical reactions and phase transitions for molecules adsorbed on solid surfaces

There is a large body of experimental evidence suggesting that the rate of product formation in a reaction between adsorbed molecules is deeply modified when one of the reagents undergoes a phase transition or, more broadly speaking, an aggregation of some kind. Specific examples are: H2 and CO oxidation; methanol transformation into a methoxy radical on O/Cu; the water reaction with oxygen to form 2OH; the decomposition of N2O on Pt(111) which is affected by a phase transition in the outermost Pt layer; and the oxidation of Ni7. It is suspected that similar effects might operate on supported metal catalysts. We use Monte Carlo simulations to examine the manner in which reagent aggregation affects the reaction rate between molecules adsorbed on a solid surface. We discuss the temperature and concentration dependence of the rate of product formation.