Publications
Microscopic Understanding of Fischer-Tropsch Synthesis on Ruthenium
Total energy calculations and scanning tunneling microscope (STM) image simulations were conducted in an effort to interpret new experimental images of CO and H adsorbed on the closepacked surface of ruthenium metal. The images are remarkable in suggesting that the adsorbed species are intermixed, plausibly accounting for the superior catalytic activity of this metal in forming hydrocarbons. Insight was gained over the short duration of the project, but a more accurate method of simulating images will be required before contact between theory and experiment points to a final result.