Improved catalytic activity of rhodium monolayer modified nickel (110) surface for the methane dehydrogenation reaction: a first-principles study

The catalytic activity of pure Ni (110) and single Rh layer deposited Ni (110) surface for the complete dehydrogenation of methane is theoretically investigated by means of gradient-corrected periodic density functional theory. A detailed kinetic study, based on the analysis of the optimal reaction pathway for the transformation of CH4 to C and H through four elementary steps (CH4 → CH3 + H; CH3 → CH2 + H; CH2 → CH + H; CH → C + H) is presented for pure Ni (110) and Rh/Ni (110) surfaces and compared with pure Rh (110) surface. Through systematic examination of adsorbed geometries and transition states, we show that single layer deposition of Rh on Ni (110) surface has a striking influence on lowering the activation energy barrier of the dehydrogenation reaction. Moreover, it is found that a pure Ni (110) surface has a tendency for carbon deposition on the catalytic surface during the methane dissociation reaction which decreases the stability of the catalyst. However, the deposition of carbon is largely suppressed by the addition of a Rh overlayer on the pure Ni (110) surface. The physical origin of stronger chemisorption of carbon on Ni (110) relative to Rh/Ni (110) has been elucidated by getting insight into the electronic structures and d-band model of the catalytic surfaces. Considering the balance in both the catalytic activity as well as the catalyst stability, we propose that the Rh/Ni (110) surface possesses much improved catalytic property compared to pure Ni (110) and pure Rh (110) surfaces.