Ammonia selective oxidation on Pt(100) sites in an alkaline medium

The oxidation of ammonia on platinum surfaces is a structure sensitive reaction that takes place almost exclusively on Pt(100) sites. This report shows how dependent the activity is on different arrangements of (100) sites of platinum. The effect of two-dimensional domains has been addressed by using stepped surfaces having terraces with (100) geometry, either with (111) and (110) steps. The results were compared with those obtained from stepped surfaces having terraces with (111) or (110) symmetry and monatomic (100) steps, thus representing monodimensional (100) domains. The observed behavior confirms the extreme sensitivity of the reaction to the different arrangement of this type of square sites.