Ethylene Epoxidation on Ag: Identification of the Crucial Surface Intermediate by Experimental and Theoretical Investigation of its Electronic Structure

Intermediate success: A combination of high-resolution X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and density functional theory allows the electronic structures of adsorbates to be probed to an unprecedented level of detail. By using these techniques, the adsorption of ethylene oxide onto an Ag(111) surface has been shown to result in the formation of an unsymmetrical surface oxametallacycle structure (see picture).