PROBING THE KINETICS FOR THIOL DESULFURIZATION - THE REACTIONS OF 2-METHYL-2-PROPANETHIOL ON MO(110)

The reactions of 2-methyl-2-propanethiol on Mo(110) were studied using temperature programmed reaction, high resolution electron energy loss, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopies. The sulfur-hydrogen bond breaks upon adsorption at 120 K, yielding adsorbed 2-methyl-2-propyl thiolate and hydrogen. Thiolate hydrogenolysis produces isobutane, while cleavage of the C-S and selective C-H bond breaking beta to the sulfur yields isobutene. Nonselective decomposition to adsorbed carbon, sulfur, and gaseous dihydrogen is a competing channel. At reaction saturation, the selectivity for hydrocarbon formation is 80%. The specific butane and butene isomers were identified on the basis of the differences in the fragmentation patterns of the various isomers when an electron energy of 27 eV was used in the mass spectrometer. The isomeric selectivity corroborates our general mechanism for thiolate reaction. Isobutane formation preceded ethane formation for a 2-methyl-2-propanethiol/ethanethiol mixture. The kinetics for 2-methyl-2-propyl thiolate desulfurization were found to increase with increasing 2-methyl-2-propyl thiolate coverage.