Selective Desorption of Ethylene after Dimethyl Sulfide Reaction on Cold Gold Surface
Résumé
Ethylene is mostly generated from nonrenewable petroleum feedstocks. To reduce the environmental footprint, sustainable sources and less energy demanding methodologies are highly encouraged. Here we show that ethylene is produced from the reaction of dimethyl sulfide on the polycrystalline gold surface, maintained at 90 K. The ion detection ratio is measured to (8.5 ± 1.1)%, leading to a conversion rate of 52% in (450 ± 60)s. The reaction is investigated theoretically for three specific surfaces, Au(111), Au(110)(1 × 1) and Au(110)(1 × 3). The flat surface is found to be ineffective for conversion, while cooperative pairwise molecular mechanism is operative at the Au(110) surfaces. Pure ethylene is finally selectively desorbed from the surface by a thermal heating at 105 K. The laboratory findings can be applicable to nanoscale chemistry but may guide the optimization of larger scale methodologies.