A compact low-temperature single crystal adsorption calorimetry setup for measuring coverage dependent heats of adsorption at cryogenic temperatures

Here we present the modification of an already existing Single Crystal Adsorption Calorimetry (SCAC) apparatus which has been extended by a compact cooling system to measure the coverage dependent heats of adsorption of gaseous compounds on thin metal substrates in a temperature range from 80 K to 430 K. The setup is characterized and its performance is tested by studying the adsorption of CO on Pt(111) at 150 K and 300 K. Coverage dependent sticking probabilities and heat of adsorption measurements are compared to previous experimental and theoretical studies proving the reliability of our compact low-temperature-SCAC setup. (C) 2014 AIP Publishing LLC.