During CO oxidation on rhodium surfaces, the reaction dynamics are markedly altered in the presence of subsurface oxygen. Subsurface oxygen stabilizes the nascent physisorbed CO2 formed after the surface reaction, allowing it to become transiently trapped and thermalized with the surface. This results in substantially modified post-transition-state dynamics, which may influence catalytic performance under real-world conditions with implications for typical reaction pathways. More in Research Article e24699, Tim Schäfer and co-workers.
Dorst et al. (Thu,) studied this question.